He Came to Get Me
by FropessionalWriter
Summary: Cole loves to draw and stick his nose in a book while Jay only wants to become just as great as an artist as Cole is. Things begin to heat up when Jay accidentally grabs Cole's sketchbook... and then, well everything's just downhill from there. Bruiseshipping AU.
1. Typical Day

**Hello friends! Finally got around to getting up the first chapter of the new AU I was planning! It was really hard to do anything for the past WEEK because I've been binging _hard_. Like _extreme_ binging. On the Office. _I won't even go into it_. Let's just say I have a lot of catching up to do... I am about six or five episodes from finishing season six, look at that :)**

 **Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoy the first chapter and look forward to the rest of it! Also, be sure to check out Ninjago 'Sons of Garmadon' on your TVs on CN if you live in the US (and anywhere else really - it just started airing here officially today) to help support the show!**

 **I have drawn pictures of Jay, Cole, and Rumi so far in this AU and they are up on my DA and Tumblr!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"We got a new shipment of books coming in today in about a half an hour…"

His manager's voice droned on and on. But Cole wasn't listening.

Instead, the young man had his head slightly turned down over the table with a pencil in hand as he made several scribbles in his sketchbook.

Drawing was a passion of his. He doodled all the time during classes and at home. And when Cole got the job to work at the bookstore that was in the same complex as his favorite art supply shop, he took it. Just like that.

"Are you even listening to me, Cole?"

Cole's head snapped up at the sharp voice of his manager. Dark brown eyes met with piercing jade eyes.

"Books. New. Half hour. Shelf em." He said cooly.

Rumi drew her bottom lip and turned her head at Cole's answer. She opened her mouth to fire back a response at her working partner but immediately closed it after the realization that it was useless. Classic Cole, she told herself as she strutted away.

Cole clicked his tongue and swiveled around, switching on his phone. "Timer… starts… now…" He delicately tapped his finger on the small screen and set an alarm for a half an hour on his clock app. As soon as that was done, Cole invested himself back into his drawings. In the beginning, he only drew a couple of small, simple things - things like flowers and cartoon animals. As Rumi was talking to him, however, he started a sketch of none other than a hummingbird.

As the minutes ticked by, Cole only continued to doodle away on his hummingbird. People were coming in and out of the bookstore but Cole paid no attention to them although he was at dead center of the store under the large sign that read: customer service. Several people came up to him asking for help to find certain books and Cole did his job… then immediately drawing his attention back to his sketches.

He glanced at the clock and realized half an hour was already almost up… which meant that the books would be here soon.

Suddenly, he heard the door swing open rather unlike the other times customers were entering the store. He detected a _woosh_ of a sling bag and the huff of an out of breath student.

He knew who it was alright.

And Cole was determined to keep his posture composed.

He kept his eyes on his paper, daring to look up now.

The stranger at the door jogged up to Cole at the customer service desk and began by drumming his fingers on the table.

"Er, yes. _Hi_." A voice started.

Cole didn't look up from his sketchbook.

The person standing in front of him cleared his throat. "I'm looking for a _book_ called 'My Dirtclod Friend is an Egghead'... You know where I can find that?"

Cole exhaled and _tsked._ "That would be in the…'My Friend is a Total Pain In the Ass' section. Buuuutt it looks like there is no more in stock and we don't have any in the back, so, sorry."

The familiar voice scoffed. "You didn't even check the computer!"

Cole snorted and closed his sketchbook with his pencil tucked between his current drawing and the cover. Resting on his shoulders on the counter, he leaned forward and cocked his head.

His favorite part of the day was whenever Jay rushed in after class, looking dead inside but still wide awake and chipper on the outside. The two of them had been friends for over two years, and while Cole had been a little suspicious about it at first - finding it hard to deal with everything about Jay - he grew a bond with the other, and Jay, no doubt the same. He liked _everything_ about Jay.

The brunette still had his brows drawn together, a small noticeable cut through his right eyebrow. Cole began to speak slow and calmly. "We still do have, however, 'Jay Walker is Simply a Pain'." The brunette in front of him wrinkled his nose as his stare threatened to get back at Cole. "How was art class, Sparky?"

"You know, the usual." Cole nodded approvingly and reopened his sketchbook. Head down, he mouthed a countdown starting from five. Just as he suspected, the second he hit one, Jay slammed his sketchbook down on the counter right next to Cole and threw his arms up in the air. "Zane's throwing me off, dude! He's _so_ good! Argh, why is he even taking that class?" Jay stopped momentarily and gaped. "And _what_ is this?!"

Cole raised a brow and followed Jay's pointing fingers to his sketch. "A hummingbird?"

Jay rolled his eyes and pushed his sketchbook towards Cole. "You gotta help me, _please_. Why don't you teach me outside of class?" He opened to one of the sketches in his book and shoved it in his friend's face.

The alarm on his phone went off and Cole abruptly pulled away. "Jay, hang on okay?" His friend only pressed further. "I have stuff to do still."

"Cole! The books are here!" Rumi's sharp voice called out. Cole pushed the sketchbook away from his face and looked to Rumi. "Oh, hello, Jay. Didn't see you walk in, you sneaky ninja."

Jay rested one arm on the counter. "Hey, could you tell me what you think of this…" He fixed his drawing next to Cole's, "and this…"

"Improvement."

"Wow, thanks!" Jay nudged Cole's arm as the young man's face started to slide off his hand. Cole didn't notice, however, how Jay's smile quickly went away.

Rumi sauntered up to the counter and rested her arms on top of it, a sly smile spreading across her smooth cheeks. "Side note, while you're here, do you want to help Cole shelf these books? They are new to the author's series, so we best put some up at the front. She's pretty popular, you know?"

Cole shot his friend a snarky smile and twirled the pencil about his fingers. "Yeah, Jay, why don't you help me out?"

"Oh. Uh. Well I was just going to sit over there and work on my drawings… yanno?" Rumi caught onto Jay's excuses and collected their sketchbooks as if to tell Jay there was no way out of it before slowly backing up.

"On second thought, you don't have a choice. They go under Fiction, Young Adults."

"But-"

"Remember, by Author! Buh-bye!" She chirped and went away.

Defeated, Jay turned to Cole and puffed his cheeks out, glaring daggers at his friend. "Ugh. Sometimes I wish I didn't know you two, then Rumi wouldn't tease me around." He muttered. He silently mouthed the words 'I hate you' just as Cole ushered him to fetch the brand new books. Cole pulled out a pocket knife and began cutting open the box.

"Rumi's cool, dude," Cole said to him and handed a box to Jay.

"Agh. Psh, I know that…" Jay swiped the box from Cole's hands and started to fast walk away from Cole.

Each carried a box towards the isles, and Jay found himself thinking about why he hadn't been able to find a job yet. And why he wasn't good at art.

Ever since he first saw Cole's drawings, something inside of him burst and he wanted to draw just like his best friend could. He wanted to be just as great as he was. So on, it took a long while to get Jay to finally take an art class. Although, if there was one thing he was a pro at, it was tinkering with gadgets and whatnot. His family practically lived in a junkyard. Better yet, they _literally_ lived in a junkyard. The plus side of that was that Jay was always finding new tools to fiddle with every day.

But… coming back from art class and seeing Cole's sketches everyday made him sick to his stomach nowadays.

He flinched when he heard a box drop on the floor. Jay quickly looked to Cole and saw him carefully opening the box. "You know, Sparky," his friend started, "Rumi was right about one thing."

Jay sat down next to Cole. "Uh-huh, and what might that be?"

"Your sketches are getting way better."

Jay swore his heart stopped for a second. "You really think so?"

Cole spared a genuine smile as he shelved a book. He looked between the number of books between him and Jay. Noticing the saddened look on his friend's face, he tried switching topics. "Why don't you put some at the front and also scattered around the store?" Jay nodded quietly and pulled one of the books out and started to flip through the pages.

"I love the smell of new books." Cole said in a low voice, his face pressed up in one of the copies. Jay snickered and lowered his copy, sitting criss cross on the ground.

"It's only been two weeks and I already want to quit the class."

Cole's stomach sunk the minute he heard those words leave Jay's mouth. He always had a feeling that Jay would doubt himself, that he would want to quit.

"You're _improving,_ Jay. Why stop now?"

"I hate it." Jay responded coldly.

"There's nothing wrong with your sketches, seriously. You're getting better."

Jay remained quiet. He knew another insult towards his own attempts would backfire on his as Cole kept throwing more and more words of encouragement. Instead, he lifted a stack of at least six books and carried them to the front of the store to display. Cole watched silently as he left and put another book on the shelf.

He figured Jay needed some time alone, after all, it was a classic Jay Walker move to storm out of a room and sit alone for a while. Picking up one of the books from the cardboard box, he got himself comfy against the bookshelf and stroked his fingers over the cover gently. Finally, Cole flipped to the first chapter and began reading.

He loved books, and he was a fan of many writers, including this one herself. Almost every other week, the bookstore would get a new shipment of brand new books to put out on display for every author's new release. Cole just so happened to be interested in many of the books that happened to released in the same year that he was working. He was a total bookworm with a creative mind.

"Hey, Cole."

Looking up from his book, Cole saw his manager leaning casually against a bookcase with one hand on her hip. Shoulders raised, Cole put the current copy of the book that he was holding on the shelf and stood up, dusting off his pants. "Hey," he muttered softly.

"Question, do you… know this author?" Cole cocked a bushy eyebrow at her. Rumi chuckled a little and brushed a strand of white hair out of her eyes. "I mean, you were looking through that book for a while… are you a fan of her works?"

Cole stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded slowly.

"You can take it." Cole tilted his head to the right. "I mean, if you want to." She cleared her throat suddenly. "You don't have to."

"Oh, no, no! Thanks! I was actually waiting for this book to come out… Didn't know it was today, though-"

"-technically tomorrow… we're just putting them out before we close."

"-Thanks."

Their conversation was interrupted by another alarm going off on Cole's phone. His hand shot out, holding his phone and he rushed to silence the alarm.

"Lloyd?" Rumi asked, walking over beside Cole.

With a sigh, Cole slid the phone back into his pocket. "Yeah. That little Champ needs someone to pick him up, right? Just while Kai's away and all that stuff."

Rumi waved him away. "I'll take care of the rest of the books. See you tomorrow!"

As Cole neared the front of the bookstore, he stumbled across Jay, sitting criss crossed on the carpeted floor with his nose in a book and the cardboard box next to the rest of the boxes and still filled with about five extra books. To his surprise, it wasn't the same book he was helping Cole put out on the shelves.

"Hey, Sparky, I'm heading out to pick up Lloyd."

"You're leaving early?"

"I am _picking up_ Lloyd." Jay jumped to his feet and put the book back to its spot on the display shelf.

He started jogging to the cashiers and turned around the corner, "Hang on a sec while I grab our things!"

"I'll be in the car!"

Everyday, Cole thought proudly to himself. He thought that had chosen a great spot for a job. Not only did it have his favorite art shop within the same complex, but Jay's art class was in the same shop as well. Come to think of it, the art shop was a pretty big building. And on the other note, he hadn't visited it for a almost a week… Maybe next time _he_ should visit _Jay_. That was, if Rumi would let him off a little earlier.

Jay pushed the doors open and walked towards Cole with the two sketchbooks in hand and his grey bag slung across his body. He stretched his arm out at Cole, the other man's coat draped over and Cole humbly took it, throwing it over his uniform.

With that, Jay bounced on his toes and linked his arm around Cole's. "Weeeelll… Got everything, so let's go!"


	2. Crush

**Ah, back with chapter two! Hoo, I need to get this off my chest cause I am just so hyped about this... _INFINITY WAR_! _FINALLY_! I'm watching it Saturday so I CANNOT WAIT!**

 **Anyways *clears throat* I could go on and on about it but that isn't what I'm here for *sweats* Thanks for the reviews! I'm really happy you like the concept :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Jay was pretty sure he had fallen asleep for a good chunk of time, seeing as when he was still wide awake, it had been just him and Cole in the car. Now, there was a little boy at the back sitting in the middle, eyes drawn to his phone.

Lloyd was back from karate.

Jay kept his head rested against the door, his eyes shuttering to a close time to time.

Judging by where they were before he fell back asleep, he knew that they were halfway to young Lloyd Garmadon's house. That gave him plenty of time to rest before coming home to have his dinner and… practice some more sketches.

From the corner of his eyes, Cole could see Jay taking his cat-nap. Cautiously, he dialed the volume knob, turning the radio on and upping the volume just loud enough for him and Lloyd to hear and Jay to sleep to.

"I almost kicked Brad in the face today," Lloyd said cooly.

Cole's fingers twitched on the steering wheel and he eyed Lloyd from the rear view mirror suspiciously. "Aren't you not allowed to do that when you spar?" Lloyd nodded his head mechanically, too "busy" to look up from his phone.

"Sensei didn't get mad at me, though," Lloyd continued on, "She's the one who told me to swing my foot when Brad was just getting up anyways - SCORE!" He cried out, causing Cole to nearly lose his concentration. Jay jolted up in his seat and he gazed around tiredly, rubbing his eyes.

" _Lloyd_ , don't shout it out like that!" Cole hissed at him, keeping his eyes fixed on the road after the incident of almost letting go.

"What's that? Are we here yet?" Jay slurred from Cole's right.

"Almost, Jay."

When they finally reached the Garmadon resident, Lloyd hopped out of the car, with no hesitation, and hurried up the front steps to the door. Cole knew he didn't quite have the strongest connection with Lloyd. If any of his friends was close to Lloyd, it was Kai. He was like the boy's big brother. Kai had known Lloyd for a few years, but they weren't the best of friends at the time. It actually started as a babysitting job, that's what Kai had told him. Him and his sister, Nya, lived only a few houses down from Lloyd, and one day, when they were searching for a babysitter, Nya pushed Kai to take the offer. At the time, Lloyd was 9, going on 10, and Cole remembered Kai telling him how pushy Lloyd was to him. How Lloyd would act all angsty and complain about why he couldn't stay home himself at the age of 9.

His mother was waiting at the door when it opened and she shared a brief 'thank you' with Cole before she turned back inside. Lloyd's mom worked from home, almost 24/7. Her husband, Garmadon, worked downtown Ninjago City with the city's police department. And his brother, Wu, ran a tea shop that was also downtown, just across from the city's best coffee store.

Right as the door closed, Cole started the engine and the car began to back out of the driveway. The drive was quiet most of the way through since Jay was still asleep, leaving Cole alone with his thoughts.

Occasionally, he would cast a brief glance in Jay's direction, smiling every time. They came upon a red light and Cole took the opportunity to steal a longer glance at Jay. He didn't quite understand how his friend could have gotten so exhausted from art class, and due to it being summer, it was still bright daylight out even around seven. But it wasn't seven, it was six, and Jay was undeniably still. The just of it was, the brunette was hugging his sketchbook like a pillow with a small smile upon his face.

And Cole found it rather adorable.

His hair hung sloppily over his eyes, urging Cole to reach out and brush the strands away.

In fact, the red light allowed him to do so...

Carefully, Cole reached out, his fingers just barely grazing the brown strands...

"Whatcha thinking about, Cole?" Jay murmured.

Cole blinked and hastily drew his arm back. He was surprised to find out that Jay was awake. "H-Hey… You're awake?"

Jay shifted in his seat and he craned his neck in Cole's direction. "I was just closing my eyes."

"Right." Cole drew in a breath and the light turned green, as if on cue. The car started to move again and gosh was Cole thankful for that green light.

"I was thinking," Jay started, and Cole nodded intently, "You wanna stop by some place for dinner? It _is_ Friday."

A smile tickled Cole's face. "Yeah. Okay." At the next red light, he turned to Jay and hunched his shoulders. "Where do you have in mind?"

Jay sat up in his seat, putting the sketchbook down on his lap. He flipped awkwardly through the pages as he knitted his brows in thought. "Well, I'm kinda craving for some fries… so maybe fast food? Burgers, definitely."

"Ah, I got it," Cole noted slyly. If there was one thing Cole had learned about Jay from being friends with him for three years, it was that he knew all of Jay's favorite restaurants and fast food places and could read his mind with ease. "Hey, just throwing it out there but, it's unusual for you to be this quiet. Something the matter?"

"I, um, let's -" Jay cleared his throat suddenly and shook his head, "I messed up on one of my warm up drawings in art class today and it just really bummed me out. It was actually not that bad…"

Cole frowned a little as he drove the car into the parking lot.

Jay had issues with self-confidence. He knew that. He also knew not to pressure Jay into opening up about his problems because Jay would only go on and on and eventually say that it was stupid and silly, and deny all facts that made him feel good about himself, making it impossible for Cole to reassure him. So, Cole could only wait for the right times to talk to Jay about these sorts of things. What happened back at the bookstore was different. Jay had admitted aloud that he sucked at drawing and that he wanted to quit. Cole could sense how frustrated Jay was at the moment, but it was something that happened occasionally since Jay had taken the class. And Cole learned that eventually, that venting period would dissolve and Jay would forget about it all within a minute or two. Still, Cole sought to give him a few notes of encouragement just before Jay would storm away to think.

However, now, Jay didn't appear to look as if he had forgotten about the whole dialema.

It had been two weeks since Jay started taking that class and two weeks of Jay complaining. He never imagined that Jay would drown in those thoughts, doubting himself so much.

Maybe something had happened today in art that triggered Jay to continue feeling this way unlike the many times before when he had just forgot about it.

They both knew how hard Jay was trying to better is skills.

In fact, Cole did help him a good number of times. He knew Jay could do it, he believed in him.

"You grab a table, I'll get the food?" Cole suggested as they stepped inside. Jay quickly nodded and found a spot, seating himself in one of the chairs.

When Cole came back with the food, Jay immediately dove for the fries causing a grin to sneak up Cole's face.

"Any plans tomorrow?" He asked, urging a conversation and fully knowing that Jay seemed to be in the mood right now.

Jay looked up from the table and pondered for a minute. "Not really. Wanna go to the park again? It's supposed to be in the high eighty's tomorrow, we could grab some ice cream on the way."

Cole raised a bushy brow, bewildered. "Wow," he gasped, astonished, "You never suggested going to the park before, usually I'm the one, but yeah, sure. Why not?"

"I thought maybe you could… teach me how to draw landscapes? And bugs?" Jay curled his bottom lip and let his attention drift to the napkins on the table. "You always pick up the ladybugs, especially."

Cole felt his heart leap in his chest. "Sure thing, Sparky." He tossed a fry in his mouth and rubbed his fingers against a napkin. "To make it fair, maybe I can stop by your art class on Monday? Two weeks and I've never visited you when you always visit _me_. What's that all about?"

Jay rolled his eyes and reached for his untouched burger, the sight of the bacon making his belly ache. "Maybe. _Maybe_. Besides, you'll attract too much unwanted attention showing off your amazing art skills."

"I don't _show off_ , Sparky." Cole scoffed. "People just see my art and the longer they awe about it, the more attention it brings. It's _their_ fault, not mine."

Jay wrinkled his nose and took a bite out of his burger. "It's _your_ fault for being so good," he said with his mouth full.

Cole drew his arms back in disgust, shaking his head with disappointment. " _Please_ , don't talk with your mouth full."

"Oh? You mean like this?" Jay proceeded to open and close his jaw at Cole as he chewed his food.

" _Don't_ chew with your mouth open either, Jay, it's disgusting." Cole sat back with a laugh as Jay continued to annoy his friend with his chewing.

"I can do whatever I want, Cole. It's a free country."

"Free has its limits, yanno?"

"Shut up, Dumbo." Jay hissed and swallowed another part of his burger.

When they were all done, they remained seated for about an extra half an hour, just chatting up their time.

Cole was happy that Jay was back to his normal self again. He didn't want to think about whether or not doubting his art was still on Jay's mind. Not now at least. He figured he would find out tomorrow when they met up for their daily 'Artist's Day at the Park'. Jay always hated the name because he didn't think of himself as an artist, but Cole said otherwise.

If Cole was being honest with himself, he felt like he put more trust in Jay than in anyone else.

At one point in their friendship, he began to develop a crush on his friend. At first, Cole denied it for days, which turned into weeks and then months. His laugh, his adorable little smiles, the way he was able to cheer Cole up with just a word whenever he was feeling blue. Not to mention, Jay was awkward all around. Awkward in the good, kind of cute, way. Even around him Jay could be awkward. And Jay had a lot of determination in him, more than anyone else he knew. Cole never said anything about his feelings, in fear for what it might lead to. Jay, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to it all.

And he was fine with that.

* * *

They stopped just in front of the Walker's home trailer which was dead center of the junkyard.

As Jay stepped out of the vehicle, so did Cole.

"You could come inside if you want to," Jay offered. Cole shrugged and moved closer to Jay before pulling him into a tight hug.

Jay was taken by surprise at first, but something inside him told him not to think about it and he only hugged back, burying his face in Cole's chest. Jay always laughed when they hugged, in his head, of course. He was so small, so short, in comparison to Cole, that whenever they shared an embrace, he felt like he was a teddy bear to Cole.

"Hey, see ya tomorrow." Cole said softly.

"Yeah."

"And don't think too hard about your art. It's great, believe me."

Jay stared into the blackness that was between how close he was to Cole's chest. He let a few seconds fly by before he finally spoke, "Yeah. Okay."

Cole sat in the car for a little while after Jay had gone inside. A part of him wanted to stay the night, but the other part of him wanted to get back to his tiny apartment and sleep in his soft, plump, bed, rather than a couch at Jay's place.

Starting the engine, Cole left and drove back down to his place.

Inside, after prepping himself for bed, he pulled out his sketchbook and flipped open to the sketch of the hummingbird he was working on earlier.

He had never actually drawn a hummingbird before. He only started to draw one now because it was Jay's favorite bird.

To make matters more embarrassing for him, he had dedicated pages to drawing Jay's favorite things. And one day, he hoped to gift them to Jay for his birthday, or just any day. But Cole didn't really _want_ to. In fact, he had made a rule that Jay was not allowed to go through his sketchbook unless given permission, which really meant never. And frankly, Jay had tried many times to steal the sketchbook but always failed.

Without thinking, Cole ripped the page with the unfinished hummingbird out of his sketchbook and tossed it into the small metal trash can by his desk.

With an upsetting huff, he stuffed the book away in his drawer and placed the book Rumi had let him keep on top of the table before settling into bed.


	3. Drawings in the Park

**There are so many things going on that my head is spinning. Anyways, hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

As soon as Jay woke up, he hopped into the shower, not feeling an ounce still sleepy, and rinsed himself clean, feeling fresh and ready for the day. Slipping into his favorite blue t-shirt and shorts, he smiled proudly at himself in the mirror, at the same time fitting a baseball cap on his head.

The sun was shining unbelievably bright today and there were little to no clouds in the sky, just how Jay expected it to be, and just what he had hoped.

"Today is going to be a great day", Jay said to his other self in the mirror, eyeing his awfully cheery grin carefully. "There's _nothing_ that can ruin this." With that, he snatched his sketchbook from the table and picked up his bag from the floor, stuffing the book inside along with a couple of pens and pencils.

"Besides, Cole's coming along so…" Jay made his way to the door and stopped when his hand touched the knob. _Cole_. He _loved_ hanging out with Cole. He had always thought of Cole as his comfort zone. Whenever he was in public with Cole beside him, he felt as if anything that could go wrong dared never to come near him as long as Cole was around.

There was this sense of security he felt whenever he was near Cole. It was something he wished he could have everyday...

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and started towards the kitchen.

"Morning, Ma! Morning, Pa!" He shouted as he bounced into the kitchen, fetching a bowl from the cupboards and some milk from the fridge. He poured the cereal in quickly, throwing a glance to his mother as she set down her pen from doing the daily crossword puzzles in the newspapers.

His father chuckled with glee, putting down his glass of orange juice. "Mornin', Son!"

"You're goin' to the park today with Cole, aren't ya?" His mother asked him.

She was always interested in what he was doing over the weekends. She had especially began to get even more nosier since now that he was older, Jay had begun to do more things outside the junkyard and with his friends.

"Yes, Ma." Jay seated himself at the dining table, beginning to munch down on his cereal. "Did you need me to get anything, or…?"

Edna strode by Jay and left a kiss on his cheek, shaking her head. "I was just wonderin', Sweetie."

The brunette was almost done eating his breakfast when he heard his mother calling his name. He nearly dropped his spoon into the bowl but quickly grabbed his belongings and rushed to the door of their trailer.

He abruptly halted to a stop when he noticed Cole was already inside, dressed in a blue-grey sleeveless top and a pair of dirty grey shorts. Dressed for the weather, Jay noted, clutching his sling bag tightly.

Edna closed the door and turned to Cole with a sweet smile on her face. "Would ya like a drink, Cole? It's awfully hot outside."

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Walker, but Jay and I can -"

"I can grab some lemonade from the fridge!" Jay piped up. "We do have tons of cans of lemonade just sitting around."

"Well, honey, yanno we bought that for you to take to your art class." Before Edna could say another word, Jay had appeared with two cans in each hand, a grin plastered on his freckled face. She hadn't even noticed that his son had disappeared for a second to the kitchen. "Oh!"

"I know, Ma." Jay looked to Cole. "Shall we leave?" Jay asked, pointing at the door.

"I _was_ going to say we could grab some ice cream on the way to the park," Cole took the can from Jay, "like you suggested." He added slyly.

Jay rolled his eyes and elbowed Cole sharply in the rib. "We're obviously still going to do that, dummy!"

"Yeah. _Obviously_." Cole let out a effortless sigh and pushed the door open, taking Jay's hand in his. "Come on, let's go. If we get to the ice cream shop now, we might be able to avoid having to wait in line."

Jay's legs gave in and followed as Cole led him outside, quickly waving goodbye to his mom right before the door shut. Once they were a good distance from the junkyard, Jay scratched his head and looked to his friend curiously.

"Hang on a sec… no car?"

Cole smirked and pried open the flap on the can. "Nope. _Wow_ , I can't believe you _just_ noticed. We're already ways away from the junkyard." Jay puffed out his cheeks, flustered, debating whether or not he should open his lemonade as well. "We'll get there in no time, Sparky. No worries."

"I mean, if I had known we'd be walking all the way there, I probably would have brought my water bottle too." Jay stopped walking when Cole threw his hand out in front of Jay, a small plastic water bottle in his hand. "Well, thank you, kind Sir." Jay tossed out coolly and accepted the bottle from him.

"You gotta pay me back for that," Cole added after Jay took a sip.

Jay's eyes widened and he almost choked on the fluids, still managing to throw a punch at Cole. "Idiot! Should've told me that _before_ I drank from it! It's just water!"

"It was the only one I brought!" He defended.

"Next time bring _two_! Lughead!"

"Gosh, quit complaining, I got it," Cole groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, a smile creeping up his face. Jay saw this and bumped Cole to the side, bursting into laughter.

Cole's smile only grew wider. He continued to stare ahead as they entered the city.

There was this light inside Jay that Cole always saw in him.

Yesterday had felt odd when Jay came back from art class and then on. It was like the light had died a little bit, and whenever it did, it brought Jay down with it. Now, Jay was laughing; a real, genuine, laughter that Cole hadn't witnessed since over 12 hours ago. It troubled him whenever Jay went over 12 hours without a good joke, or a good laugh. And hearing Jay laugh was, to him, one of the best things in the world. If only he could hear that laugh everyday.

"Hey, what's that smile for? It's making me nervous." Jay spoke up, tucking the bottle into his bag next to the can.

"Nothing, it's just, it's nice to see you this way."

Jay chuckled softly, fixing the cap atop his head. " _Way_? Be specific."

Cole shrugged and tilted his head further away from Jay, focusing his eyes on the trees. "You know. Happy, jumpy, a tease, mmm… _insufferable_."

"Insufferable…" Jay repeated softly to himself, taking the time to run the word through his head. "Insufferable, hey! Three years, Cole! _Three_ years!" He folded his arms across his chest defiantly, shunning away. A few seconds later, he cleared his throat. "Almost four."

"Almost four? Whatcha mean?"

Jay grinned sheepishly and rubbed his fingers together. "I've been, um, counting. And, uh, four days from now marks exactly four years since we've been best friends."

"I don't believe you. You actually counted the days?"

Jay thought he sensed he a hint of disbelief in his friend's voice, and he immediately regretted bringing that up. "Who… doesn't?" The brunette joked, letting his eyes fall to the ground.

Cole frowned upon seeing Jay look this way. "Hey, I'm impressed." Jay's eyes flickered briefly over at his best friend, a small smile edging its way up his lips. "With you and myself…" Cole slung an arm around Jay, pulling him close as they walked. "Four years, huh?"

"Four _awesome_ years." Jay corrected, feeling better already. "Hey, look! We're here!"

Just as Cole had promised, they did manage to make it while the line was still short enough _and_ minutes before it started to get even longer.

After getting their ice cream like they had planned, the two friends were now on their way to the park where they found their usual bench by the lake, sitting down to sketch and all the other fun things best friends like the two of them did.

Within the time it took them to reach the park, Jay had already finished his ice cream and had soon moved on to the lemonade he never opened.

Jay remembered the last time he was here, he had chosen a spot by the lake between the tall grass and was determined to sketch the view of the water with the light, glazing it's shiny surface. While he was doing that, Cole had taken the liberty to take a walk down a trail they had discovered last summer.

This time, however, Jay dragged Cole with him towards the dock where several people were hanging out themselves, some of them dressed for a swim, others relaxing in their foldable chairs. Cole didn't bother to fight back as he normally did, instead, he allowed Jay to lead him to wherever he had in mind. At the edge of the dock, he pulled his friend down with him to sit, their feet hanging off the end, just a couple feet above the water. Jay dove quickly to remove his shoes, pushing them behind him and urging Cole to do the same.

Cole had just finished his cone when he pulled his sketchbook out from his bag. No surprise, he caught Jay glancing curiously over his shoulder at the spiral bound book.

"Could I look through it?" He asked.

Cole froze at the unexpected question and stared at Jay with his brows raised incredibly high. He knew that Jay knew about his rule. So why was he asking this still?

"Jay, you know what I said about going through my sketchbook."

The brunette closed his eyes and took a deep breath, giving out a sigh. "I know, I know, but just this one time?"

"No." Cole stated clearly. Jay's face fell. "Look, it's not I don't trust you… It's just, there are things in there that I'd like to keep to myself. You understand that, right?"

Jay leaned his head to the right and pursed his lips. Cole could tell that he was thinking hard, and Jay rarely ever did that.

All too suddenly, Jay gasped loudly and he firmly grabbed Cole by the shoulders, startling him. Cole's eyes quickly looked down at the water and he swallowed, grabbing Jay's shoulders in return to assure him that he wasn't going to fall in.

" _Jay!_ "

"You _like_ someone, don't you?"

Cole shut his mouth, the words suddenly caught in his throat.

He hadn't realized that his cheeks had burned a bright pink until Jay was all over Cole, laughing his butt off horrendously. Cole bit the inside of his cheek and looked away, reaching for his out in the open sketchbook and hastily tucking it back inside the bag.

Jay gasped once more and felt the corners of his lips rising high. " _You do!_ You do! You do! You _do_!" Jay cheered, jumping onto his feet. Cole growled low in his throat and caught the brunette by the hand, yanking him back down onto the deck to be seated. "Oh my gosh, who is it?"

His friend looked away shyly, grinding his teeth together. How could he get Jay to stop? "Jay, please be quiet." He heard himself say in a low voice.

"Dude, is it Nya? Oh my goodness, is it her?!" Jay dug his hands into his hair and he stared at Cole with disbelief.

Cole couldn't do anything but sigh. At least he now knew for sure that Jay was acting more like himself again. And at least he could take Jay's mind off of things.

While Cole was still racking his brain for things to say rather than "Shut up, Jay." or "The person I like is you.", Jay was still rambling on and on. "You were always talking with her whenever she stopped by the bookstore. Do you think she likes you too? I mean, she _is_ a really nice person."

It was at this moment that Cole wanted more than anything to push Jay into the water.

"Jay, I'm not - _no_. Okay?"

Jay stopped mid sentence and offered his friend a confused look. " _No_? No, what?"

"No, it's not Nya and no, I do not have a crush, okay?" Cole leaned back until he was flat on the dock, keeping his eyes on the clear sky. "We're just friends. Seriously."

"Oh… okay." Jay rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed that he had almost made a scene out of it. "So, then, what is it? What are you trying to hide from me?"

Cole's eyes popped open and he turned his head to face Jay, his dark bangs falling over his eyes. Jay reached down with a disgruntled face and pushed them away from Cole's green eyes. "Personal problems," he mumbled as Jay continued to stare down on him.

"Personal problems?"

"Yeah."

Technically, it wasn't all a lie, Cole told himself. It kind of was a problem after all.

For starters, he knew the feeling he was feeling wasn't mutual. Jay had tried to woo a lot of girls in the past, he and Kai were duo that went at it whenever they had the chance, while he and Nya would always just laugh about it and try to knock some advice into their little brains. Every girl Jay managed to get a date with, however, always ended up in someone getting their heart broken, and that someone was always Jay. Kai never got a single date.

Two, ever since he discovered his feelings for Jay, he had began to list all the different possible outcomes that could turn up from a confession or Jay somehow finding out. He didn't want his deeper feelings for Jay to get in the way of their friendship, and he sure as hell didn't want it to only make things awkward between them.

And three, one way or another… Jay was going to find out.

He jumped back into reality when he felt Jay patting his face with his hand, a quirky looking smile on his face. Cole's hand instinctively shot out and curled around Jay's wrist, telling him to quit it.

"Alright, alright." He pulled Cole back up into a sitting position and next, his sketchbook. Opening the spiral bound sketchbook to a clean page, Jay hovered his pencil above the white and scooted closer to Cole, pointing at the view before them.

"How bout the trees? And the lake?"

Hearing those words made Cole relax, and he whipped his sketchbook back out as well, a smile on his face. "How about we start with something a little more simple?"

Jay glanced once at Cole, nodding in agreement. He didn't think it would have been wise to argue with Cole under a skill that Cole was so much better in than he was. Especially since Jay was only trying to improve, not challenge himself. Well, not yet, that was.

Cole had told him that he was self taught, so Jay was confident that his friend definitely knew what he was doing when it came to things like these.

"What do you have in mind?"

"How about… this ladybug?" He suggested, lifting his finger closer to Jay. "I saw the little guy crawling around over here. You think you can draw that?"

At first, Jay was hesitant to say yes. However, a part of him was in awe with how gentle Cole was with the small creatures. Not just small, but every creature. Once they came across a stray cat in the middle of winter and Cole insisted on taking the shivering animal to the nearest shelter or pet store they could find. He really did have a love for animals. Jay even used Cole as an excuse to get a dog once.

He said that if he could get a dog, he was sure that Cole would come by every other day or so to help train the puppy and whatnot. Because, that's just how Cole was when it came to animals.

Jay admired that.

"You should draw it a lil bigger than that…" Cole said.

Jay bit his lip and simply nodded, taking heed of Cole's words.

"Maybe next time I can try and teach you to draw hummingbirds, like the one I was drawing yesterday," Cole added softly.

"I thought you said to start off easy," Jay scoffed, looking back at the ladybug.

"Yeah, but, hummingbirds are pretty."

Jay's lips curled into a tight grin. "Can't disagree with that. They are my favorite bird after all."

"I know."


	4. Junkyards and Pizza Rolls

**Woo! This chapter is a longer one ;) Oh right, and I did change the title - sorry. I just reallyt hated the old (came up with it on the spot cause all I wanted to do was get this story out ahh - slaps self)**

 **But anyways, I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Jay's drawings were… _perfect_.

As of their time at the park, Jay had mastered two pieces. One of the ladybug on Cole's finger, and two, a piece in Jay's own style of a family of ducks in the water not too far away from them.

It started out a bit sloppy at first. Jay was pouting like a little girl at a toy store every time he drew something that he felt like was wrong. Cole just wasn't sure how everything he was saying just wasn't getting through Jay's skull. Maybe he wasn't stressing it enough. Maybe Jay was just ignoring him.

At least, that was what he thought until he caught Jay staring at his sketchbook looking a bit like the willingness in him had left.

Cole knew that Jay envied him. He knew that it wasn't out of pure intentions, and he hated that Jay had to envy him so much. In fact, it wasn't just with art, but rather things like leadership, organization skills, and so many other things Jay felt he could never be good at.

So, to make Jay feel a little better, Cole set his pencil on top of his thighs and tore out the page from his sketchbook, crumpling it up into a ball and stuffing it into his bag.

Jay seemed a little distraught that Cole had done exactly what he didn't want him too, but after explaining to Jay a completely made up reason as to why he did that, the brunette carried on like it was nothing, continuing to add shading to the water.

It took hours till Jay had finally decided that he was done for the day and ready to go home.

Currently, the two of them were back at the Walker's junkyard, hanging out in the junk like they always did.

They hung out on the top of his parent's trailer quite often, liking the quiet that came out of living almost in the middle of nowhere. Well, all quiet aside from Jay's parents. They were _hecka_ loud, sometimes driving Jay insane.

"Ma made some pizza rolls," Jay proclaimed as he stepped out of the trailer and raised his chin, eyeing Cole on the roof of the trailer. Outstretching his arms, he nonverbally asked Cole to take the plate. Cole did as asked and set it down to his right where he knew Jay would sit on the other side of it. Once the younger climbed atop, he reached for the plate and popped a bite into his mouth.

"Remind me again how awesome your mom is?"

Jay tilted his head to the right and sheepishly burst into a grin. Cole was sucking the pizza sauce off of one of his fingers, staring at Jay unfazed.

"Unholy… these pizza rolls are _so_ good."

The brunette chuckled and tossed another into his pie hole.

"I'll be sure to tell her to make these more whenever you come over," Jay assured him with a wink. "Since you eat so much."

Cole rolled his eyes. " _That_ _or_ you just eat too little."

Minutes later and the plate was all rid of pizza rolls. Cole had eaten over half of what was on the plate, Jay only knowing he ate at least six.

The dark haired teenager could see from the corner of his eyes, Jay swinging his feet off the edge of the trailer, looking down in thought.

They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.

It was soon five till seven and the sky was still a bright shade of blue, giving off the impression that it was still early in the afternoon. At one point, Cole had gone inside, taking the plate with him and coming back outside with a single, square, sheet of yellow paper and two markers.

When he was back on the roof, he raised both legs and sat cross legged, beginning to fold the paper in interesting ways. When he finished, he held the finished product next to Jay, waiting for him to turn around.

As hoped, the brunette did and his jaw dropped at the sight.

"It's a - it's a Pikachu! _Dude!_ " Jay's fist collided with Cole's upper arm roughly and he snatched the yellow folded paper from his friend's hands. "Oh my gosh, you didn't!"

"I _did_." Cole said with an added smirk.

"How are you so great with paper? I've never once seen you fold paper in my life!"

"It's called _origami_ , Jay."

"I knew that!" Jay huffed and flicked his finger over one of Pikachu's ears.

Cole snorted, folding his arms over his legs. "Candy?" He then offered and dove for his pocket, pulling out some small chocolates.

Jay stared at them, speechless. "Dude, _how_ did these not melt? Seriously! It's like a hundred degrees out!"

Cole shrugged and tossed one of the chocolates at Jay's face, unraveling his.

"It's _seven_ _and_ the heat's started to cool down a bit."

Jay snorted, kicked his feet back, and took the chocolate in his mouth. Surprisingly, it wasn't too warm as of being in Cole's pocket for the majority of the time. A thought crossed his mind and he straightened his back immediately, turning to his best friend.

"Hold on a sec - did you take these from my fridge?!" Cole slowly cocked his head at Jay, an innocent smile grazing Cole's features. Seeing that as a way to avoid admitting so, Jay's face drenched in red and he collapsed on the trailer roof, huffing. "Cole! You- I was saving those!"

The older teenager could not help but gwaff at the situation. Even though Jay had a habit of always getting upset over the smallest and silliest of things, Cole still quite enjoyed every second of it. After the many times Jay would act out this way, Cole began to pick up on how he would use the same hand gestures and facial expressions whenever he was this infuriated. Jay would raise both fists in despair, draw his eyebrows so close that it looked like they were touching, and quiver his lips, trying to make the deepest frown he could.

And the funny part was, it was like Jay wasn't even trying. No matter how upset he got, the way he showed it just didn't cut it for Cole - it was as if it didn't really even matter to begin with.

But, it was still amusing.

"How could you do this to me? _How?_ I'm so-" Startled, Jay pushed himself into a sitting position with his hand and stared at Cole with his scarred brow raised high. "Excuse me, what are _you_ smiling about?"

"You really want to know?" Cole edged, leaning closer.

" _Yes_ I want to know!"

Cole's lips thinned and he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Alright. You've got a little something on your face."

"What?" Jay's hands shot up, feeling all over his cheeks. " _Where_?"

"Riiiight…" Cole's finger hovered a bit, moving from one side of Jay's face to the other. "There!" He exclaimed and poked Jay on the cheek. Jay frowned and slowly lifted his hand to the spot Cole had touched just as his friend settled for a disgruntled look.

"What… what is it?"

"Oh… I guess, it just turns out... it's on the other cheek too! No, no, it's _all over your face_. Ha!"

With a stroke of realization, Jay slapped Cole's hand away and growled deep in his throat. "Cole! You dumbass," Jay murmured softly. After a loud gasp, Cole locked an arm around Jay and started to mess with his hair, cautious that they were high above ground.

"Dumbass? You're the stupid one," Cole remarked.

Jay pushed Cole's arm away and collapsed against his side, shaking his head amusingly.

"Hey, serious talk for a bit." Cole started, grabbing Jay's attention.

"Aw. Yeah? What is it?"

"I'm coming over to your art class on Monday," he lied. Well, partially lied. He hadn't gotten an O.K from Rumi yet, but he was one hundred percent positive she would say yes to him if he asked. In the time being, he wanted to see how Jay would react to all of it.

Almost immediately, Jay scrambled into a more alert sitting position and he craned his neck at Cole suspiciously.

"You are?" Cole nodded excitingly at his friend. "Monday, huh?"

"Yeah! … Is something wrong?"

"Oh!" The corner of Jay's lips rose, faking a smile and he waved a hand. "Pfft, _no_."

Of course something was wrong. There was _always_ something wrong.

In fact, they were starting a new art project that day and Jay had planned to do his own thing, try and doodle some of his own sketches before he started anything. That and also just avoiding to work on the project in general. He just didn't feel motivated. Now that he knew Cole was coming over, he didn't feel like he _could_ do anything at all without being as precise as possible.

He always felt as if the people around him were silently judging his every stroke, his every decision. And though he knew Cole would never do that, the thought still lingered.

He ran the scenario through his head a couple more times before finally settling on a thought: maybe Cole being present would motivate him to start on the project.

"Jay, did you hear me?"

Being pulled back into the present, he shook his head wildly and looked around, forgetting where he was and what he was doing.

"No…?"

With a exasperated sigh, Cole said, "I said that I'd join you for a bit. Maybe draw with you?"

"Oh." Jay stared silently at his feet. " _Oh_." He repeated once more.

Cole frowned. He figured Jay was lost somewhere in his own thoughts, so he thought it best to end their conversation there.

"Serious talk over?"

"Huh?"

"Serious talk is over, Sparky. I didn't mean to make you feel stressed or anything." Glancing down at his phone that he had left flat on the roof, he checked the time and sighed. "I should get going before it _really_ starts to get dark," he told Jay, putting his phone away.

The brunette slid off the roof and raised his head, looking back up at Cole. Seconds later, his friend was beside him on the junkyard ground and he opened the door. After grabbing his bag, Jay sent his friend on his way home with a wave, feeling his stomach suddenly drop.

Shutting the door once and for all for the rest of the day, Jay turned around and started for the kitchen, his stomach growling for a snack. As he drew nearer, his eyes caught something sitting on the edge of the dining table, closed. He silently stalked over to it, his mind now straying away from the food and now onto whatever it was that was on the table.

A grey, rough cut cover, spiral bound to hundreds of white pages.

Jay picked it up and studied its outside features.

"Huh, looks like Cole left his sketchbook here…" Jay squinted, " _Cole's sketchbook_ ," he breathed and hastily slammed it down on the table, his hands shaking with what he was about to find when he lifted the front cover.

Suddenly, his head began to fill with thoughts and Jay couldn't keep track.

What if it was something horrible?

What if it was some old drawings that Cole was just disgusted by? Never wanting to be reminded of again.

Jay shook his head. No way, Cole would have probably ripped those pages out if that was the case.

What if it was a secret? A secret he absolutely wanted _nothing_ to do with and not one soul to share it with.

What if it _was_?

And what if Cole got mad at him for looking?

What if Cole stopped talking to him? What if he stopped helping him? And stopped coming over?

What if Cole stopped being his friend?

Jay shut his eyes at the thought. He didn't want to dive into that any deeper.

"Nope!" He yelled and jumped backwards, pulling his arm away.

* * *

Three hours since Cole arrived back at his complex, he plummeted onto the bed, burying his face into one of the pillows, ready to call it a night.

Suddenly he remembered something and he reached for his phone, propping himself up on his shoulders. Kicking his feet up in the air, Cole punched the numbers in his phone and started to dial.

He waited a couple seconds until it started to ring and Cole only begged for Rumi to pick up.

"Cole? What's up?" Came his boss' voice from the phone. Boy, did she sure sound wide awake.

"Rumi! I know it's really late and I probably shouldn't have called at this hour but could I maybe make a request?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure!"

"Monday. Could I get out of work earlier that day?" Cole felt his stomach knot at the sudden silence that hung between them. Growing frantic, he licked his lips and quickly continued to speak. "I thought maybe I could meet Jay at his art class this time? … You know, how he always comes over to the bookstore."

"Of course, Cole."

Cole nearly dropped his phone, wowed. He knew Rumi would say yes, but he didn't actually think he'd be prepared for it. " _Really_?"

"It's really no big deal. Honestly, Cole. I'll just have the new intern come to fill in for you when you leave."

"Intern?" Cole repeated, the word echoing in his brain.

"Exactly. Her name's… Pix, I think."

Cole smiled genuinely. "Well I can't wait to meet her come Monday."

He felt a silence but he knew that on the other end of the line, Rumi was only beaming unbelievably wide. "Night, Cole." She finally said.

"Night."

Closing out of the application, Cole dropped his phone and threw himself back on the mattress, hopelessly gazing up at the ceiling.

So Rumi hired a summer intern? Cole chuckled. For all the times he's worked there, he'd never had anyone other than Rumi to talk to. Every other employee kept to themselves and Cole didn't ever think to bother them.

As he thought about it, his hand reached for his bag and he pulled it close to him, diving inside for his sketchbook.

But the bag felt somewhat lighter.

Cole's face paled and he quickly jumped out of bed, edging closer to his desk. "Crap. Crap, crap, crap, _crap._ "

When he couldn't find it there, he began to search the entire room, but it was still _nowhere_.

Cole deeply inhaled as his eyes drifted to his phone, just now thinking about the last place he hoped it was in. "Please tell me I didn't leave it there," he repeated to himself as he hastily jabbed at the numbers on the screen. " _Please_. Please, _no_."

If he did leave his sketchbook there…

 _If_ he did… and Jay found it.

Cole crumpled and buried his head between the knees. Jay was unbelievably nosy… and usually he was fine with him going through his stuff, just not his sketchbook. _Never_ his sketchbook.

If Jay found out-

" _Stop_ overthinking it, Cole." He hissed at himself.

"But I can't."

Worriedly, he sat cross legged on the bed and stared at his phone screen as the number continued to dial.

"Jay?"

He spoke slow and soft as soon as his friend picked up the phone.

"Cole? It's ten. Aren't you usually in bed by now?"

"Jay, just shut up for one second. You didn't happen to see my sketchbook there… did you?" Cole ran a hand through his hair, growing more frantic by the minute. "I think I might have left it there by accident."

Jay's eyes snapped open and he let his gaze fall on the sketchbook that was right in front of him.

"Oh! Yeah!" Jay cut himself off from saying anymore and bit his finger. "I mean, I _totally_ forgot you had that with you… but sorry, didn't see it here."

A bit more relieved, Cole calmed his breathing and leaned back on his hand, a little more relaxed. "It's - It's okay, thanks. Text me if it shows up or something? Kay?"

Jay nodded, pulling his hand away from the sketchbook. He hesitantly swallowed. "Y-Yeah… Bye, Cole."

"Night, Sparkplug."

"Boulderbrains," Jay added, smiling.

As soon as Cole hung up, Jay's eyes drifted back to the sketchbook, feeling guilt wash over him. He just lied to Cole about not having seen his sketchbook… and the way Cole had spoke to him over the phone… he sounded so distressed. Ignoring the shame, he tucked Cole's sketchbook away to the side and settled under the covers, switching off the light.

He hadn't looked inside of it yet.

But he would someday.

One day.

"Eventually," Jay told himself, and drifted to sleep.


	5. Making a Decision

**Ah, late night chapter! Apologies but it is Friday, and I didn't want to update it over the weekend. Happy June everyone!**

* * *

Not even 24 hours since possession of the sketchbook and still, Jay was aching to open the very item that sat before his very eyes.

When he woke up, he noticed a text from Cole, asking once again if his sketchbook was anywhere at Jay's place and if his parents had seen it.

As expected, Jay lied.

He had kept it on the edge of his bed all night, hoping that maybe he would have knocked it over in his sleep, allowing it to fall onto any page so that he could say he took a peek inside by accident.

Obviously, that wasn't what happened, and obviously, Jay just couldn't bring himself to look inside no matter how much his body said yes.

Was it an invasion of privacy?

Yes.

Could it upset Cole?

 _Heck_ yes.

Would it create a dent between their friendship?

…

Debatable.

But most likely yes. Somewhat yes.

He was considering Cole's feelings, yes, that's what he was doing. And maybe in time, Cole would just forget about it and buy a new one, letting the guilt finally leave him.

There was a ding and Jay's head whipped to the right, eyes falling on the phone screen.

It was a text message from Cole. A question, in fact.

 _Lunch?_

A smile fought its way across his face and Jay swiftly moved to pick up his little device, fingers typing away at a response with ease.

 _fish and chips! … gimme fifteen. I'll meet u at ur place_

 _Whatever you say, Walker._

With a grin upon his face, Jay sprang off his bed and tucked his phone into the pocket of his day shorts. He reached for his bag, throwing a water bottle, his wallet, and earphones inside. His eyes drifted to the sketchbook sitting on his bed and he picked it up delicately, knitting his brows together in thought.

It wouldn't hurt to take it with him… would it?

Coming to a final decision, Jay carefully tucked the book inside his bag and started for the door.

"Cole and I are going out for lunch!" Jay said loud enough for his parents to hear as he neared the door to the outside of their home. "I'm meeting him at his place."

Ed looked up from the toolbox. "Alright, Son. Just text us when you get there… or, or better yet, call us."

Jay cracked a grin as half his body slipped out the door. Rolling his eyes at his parents, he said to them, "Since when have I ever _not_ made it to Cole's place safely?"

He heard a soft giggle from his mother and saw her moving to stand beside Ed. "Go on now, dear. Have fun!"

Walking to Cole's house was a pain, considering that there was no one to talk to. And Jay loved a good conversation. It was typical for him to spend hours blabbering on and on about something to someone, and often, that someone was Cole, the fact being that Jay hardly had anyone to share with. The nice part about it was that Cole tended to share everything with Jay as well, Jay and his parents that was.

They were practically all they had of each other.

Cole's own parents were… not around. Cole had been living by himself for quite some time, his father all the way in the city and going around on music tours and teaching little kids how to dance and sing. It wasn't specifically that Cole didn't want any part in his father's passion, in fact, if there was one thing he loved just as equally as art it was _singing_.

Of course, Jay had heard Cole sing before, but that was by total accident. Cole never dreamed of anyone to listen to _him_. And when Jay stumbled upon Cole's angel of a voice, he nearly _drowned_ in it.

He wished his friend would sing more often, and he was saddened that his friend was embarrassed by the sound of his own voice. No matter how many times Jay told him that he had an amazing voice, Cole just flushed and tried to change conversation topics.

Currently back in the present, Jay decided to take out his earphones and listen to some tunes to fill in for the awkward silence around him.

It was always so quiet in Cole's side of the neighborhood. The busier side was probably not for another several houses down where the tiny playground sat and the cars drove by all the time.

He scrolled through his library of music, searching for the right song for a perfect, sunny, day such as today.

Maybe a song from the new the _Popular Mean Girls_ musical that came out just recently.

Surprisingly, Cole hadn't even heard a single song from that soundtrack yet. Jay, however, was on top of everything when it came to musicals. He knew about every new show coming out, about every song there was in his book of top favorites, and he was always the first to click play whenever a new song came out on for streaming.

His feet marched to the jungle-ly tune of the song, a happy smile gracing his features.

Time flew by fast, as one minute he was whistling away at tunes and the next:

"Just on time, Sparkplug," said Cole as he turned around from locking the front door. Jay looked up from his phone and noticed he was standing in Cole's driveway. "Whatcha listening to?" His friend asked, jogging closer to the other.

Jay popped out an earbud and raised a scarred brow at Cole, looking back down at his phone innocently. "Remixes. You know, I tend to prefer remixes over the actual version of the song-"

"I _know_ , Sparky, you've told me a dozen times," Cole chuckled, "or have you forgot that?"

"-but musicals are the _best_." Jay finished, as if having not heard a word Cole said, tucking his phone away at the same time.

"Alright, hop in the car now, wouldya?"

And so, Jay followed suite and collapsed into the passenger's seat, taking off his bag and setting it on his thighs.

Suddenly, his ringtone started to play and Jay's eyes grew wide with a tad of embarrassment as he quickly dove to fetch it out of his pocket.

"Ma?" He asked, exchanging a glance with Cole. "Yeah, I'm here, Ma." Jay rolled his eyes and shared a soundless laugh with Cole. "Cole's right here-"

"Hey, Mrs. Walker," Cole said into the phone as Jay pressed it closer.

"Is my little boy lying to me, Sweetie?" Edna asked suddenly, causing Jay to turn red.

"He's all in one piece, Mrs. Walker. It's nice that you two are always looking out for him," Cole added and smiled at his friend.

Edna giggled over the phone. "Tell Jay not to spend too much cash! He's always coming home with new things. Thank you, dear."

"My pleasure, ma'am." Cole added a little jokingly and pushed the phone back to Jay.

"Love you, Ma," Jay hissed through clenched teeth.

"Love you too, Sweetie!"

As soon as Jay's mother was off the phone, the brunette dropped his head back against the headrest and groaned loudly, dragging a hand across his face.

"It's great that your parents are always looking out for you, yanno?" Cole said to him, starting the engine.

"I know, I know… sometimes I wished they just trusted me."

Cole frowned slightly. "I bet you they trust you with everything. They just want to know that their only son is alright."

Jay snorted, letting the hand fall from his face. "So, have you found your sketchbook?" Jay chimed suddenly as the car began to backup. He wanted to know Cole's thoughts on the situation at hand and how his friend was holding up with the disappearance of it. If Cole reacted too awkwardly, Jay would take that as a sign that the sketchbook _did_ in fact contain secrets Cole did _not_ want to spill. Still, he _was_ a nosy person.

"Gone," Cole said in merely a whisper.

"Did you look everywhere?" asked Jay.

"Of course I did. I checked everywhere it could have been but nothing turned up." Jay remained silent as Cole drawled on, taking a deep breath. "The only other place it could have been was at your place, but you and your folks haven't seen it, right?" Cole let out an exasperated sigh.

"Right," Jay echoed. His eyes slowly drifted to the bag on his lap, the one holding the very item that was the center of discussion inside of it. He cleared his throat, grabbing Cole's attention. "We could buy a new one… today?"

"Maybe."

Jay bit his lip.

 _Maybe_. That was the keyword - that was the only word Jay needed to affirm that something really was up with that sketchbook of Cole's.

A hand drifted inside of his bag, running his callous fingers over the cover of the spiral bound book gently. Thankfully, Cole did not notice this. "What's in that book?" He asked, hoping he sounded confident enough to mask the real nerves he felt.

Cole blinked, looking taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"Specifics, Cole. What's so important that's in that book? You were hesitant when I brought up that you could just buy a new one… what if it really is gone? And you can't find it anymore? Are you ever going to tell me?"

"No. Jay."

When they had arrived at the complex with the small seafood restaurant, Cole stepped out of the car and shot his friend a look.

"It's none of your business. You don't have to know _everything_ about me. Besides," he continued, holding the door open for Jay, "it has nothing to do with you."

 _But it does. It really does._

Cole drew in a deep breath and followed Jay inside.

His mind was still wrapped around the sketchbook as he stepped inside. A thought crossed Cole's mind and he stole a glance at the bag slung around Jay.

What if he had the sketchbook?

Cole shut his eyes. No way.

And even if he did, he would have opened it by now, meaning he would have found out Cole's crush on him… meaning that _this_ … that they wouldn't be as 'normal' as usual.

But still… it was a thought to consider. One that Cole did not want to think about, and one that he refused to believe, but had to.

"Still thinking about, you know?" Jay whispered, nudging him.

Cole quirked a brow and looked down upon Jay's curious face. " _No_ , actually," he lied. "Now, Mr. Walker, what would you like to order?"

* * *

The two boys ended up spending a majority of their time at the seafood restaurant, chatting away as if time was limitless. The topic of the sketchbook had managed to wriggle out of conversation and Jay and Cole were soon bantering on about debatable ideas such as why musicals were better than modern day music and whatnot.

Cole _adored_ musicals. Heck, he was the one who _dragged_ Jay into musical hell. One song and the smaller brunette was fixed on listening non-stop to show after show after show. He even made references to a song nearly every day.

"Have you heard _any_ of the songs from the _Popular Mean Girls_ yet?" Jay asked, frowning at his friend. "It's been almost a week."

"I've been… distracted lately." Cole sighed and stood up, gesturing for Jay to follow him outside after sitting in the restaurant for so long.

"Come _on_ , Cole. You've got to listen to it! There's this one really dorky song that's _so_ hilarious!"

"Oh, yeah?" The two walked across the parking lot to the pet store. "What's it about?"

"Well, you asked!" Jay bounced on his toes and jogged closer to Cole, scrolling through his music, his finger hovering over the play button. "Okay, so the main character, Addy, has had problems with finding love in the past, but then she meets this one guy with whom she just feels this _click_ with!"

Cole chuckled quietly. "Uh huh, so what's the dorky part?"

"Addy fawning over him while being all awkward," Jay said with a wink. "Here! Why don't you listen for yourself! It'll be the first song from the musical you get to hear!"

Cole watched as Jay untangled his earphones and stuck them into the jack on his phone before handing them to Cole to stick in his ears.

The second Jay hit play, Cole felt as if he already had a connection with this song.

The song filled his head in seconds.

Thank goodness he wasn't as awkward as Addy was with her own guy around Jay.

 _Awkward._

Cole shook his head.

Crazy thoughts started to pour into his head the more his brain tuned into the song alone.

Jay's smiles, his laughs. His _freckles_ , there were one too many. His outgoing attitude whenever the two were just having fun, throwing all seriousness out the window.

Most days, Cole only wished he could hold Jay in his arms and run his fingers through those dark curls atop of his head. Most days, Cole only wished Jay wasn't so oblivious to it all.

Now, he just wished Jay hadn't found out about a secret being locked away in Cole's sketchbook.

 _Now_ , he just wished he hadn't lost his sketchbook.

"Cole!" Jay's high voice called, snapping the other out of a trance. "Aren't you gonna look at the hamsters?"

He turned his head in Jay's direction and saw the brunette staring with large eyes at the large hamster aquariums.

Cole sighed lovingly without realizing it and he quickly cleared his throat, starting towards Jay.

 _Love. Love._ _ **Love**_ _._

 _He was in love with Jay._

"I wish I could get one," Jay muttered softly, pressing a finger against the glass to where a hamster had its paw up.

Cole tore the earphones from his ears and handed the back to Jay. "They're so… small."

Hands still clasped around Cole's and his earphones, Jay doubled over and burst into laughter, nearly falling forward against his friend.

"That's _it_? 'They're so small'?" Jay worked to collect himself. "Thanks, Mr. Obvious." He snorted and punched Cole lightly on the shoulder.

Cole blinked and looked down, having blanked out for a couple moments. After quickly processing through the events that had just gone down, he punched Jay back, a grin working its way up his face.

"Mr. Obvious probably isn't so obvious with _everything_ ," Cole said back.

Jay cocked a brow. "Er, like what?"

Cole held his fist in the air, his grin falling. Oh shoot. "Um, you know… everybody's not obvious with _something_."

"Yeah!"

Cole dropped his arm and smirked. "Yeah."

 _He was stupid in love._

* * *

"Okay, so Cole said 'maybe'," Jay said to himself as he paced back and forth in his room. "And he was _definitely_ lying to you back there when you asked about the sketchbook!"

He jumped into his bed, still in his daytime clothes, reaching for the sketchbook with open arms.

"He's definitely hiding something…" Jay traced invisible circles on the cover of the book, thinking to himself.

"You've waited almost a day already, Jay." He sat up straighter in bed and stared at the sketchbook hard.

"You never take this long to make a decision!" He yelled, trying to convince himself.

Eyes drifting to the side of the room, he located his own sketchbook and picked it up, setting it beside Cole's.

Tomorrow was a new day. And tomorrow meant back to art class and starting on a new project.

Jay groaned.

He was going to dread that.

He opened the to the first few pages of his sketchbook then pulled out his phone and pulling up a photo of a drawing that Cole had sent him. He set the two up side by side, feeling the anxiety wash over him once more.

He had actually tried to copy Cole's art once. But they all turned out like garbage, at least that was how he saw it.

An idea suddenly popped in his head as he continued to compare pieces of art.

If he couldn't make a decision today, he would make that decision _tomorrow_. He would open Cole's sketchbook tomorrow and finally see what was inside.

The catch was, he would get there in bits. Progressively moving page after page was just enough to make it seem like he wasn't _as nosy_.

He would use Cole's sketchbook as inspiration and guidance for his art project tomorrow. He would go by, page after page, as if it were a regular step by step book until he eventually came across what he was looking for.

Two in one!

Jay beamed.

Yeah, that could work.

 _Tomorrow_.


	6. Screw It

"Hey, Rumi!" Cole waved happily as he bounced into the store and headed for the center round counter in the middle.

The white haired girl behind the shelf of books raised her head and noticed Cole walking past her with a smile on his face. Harumi grinned at this and put the book she was currently holding away, following Cole to the counter.

"You sure are in a good mood. Might I ask whatever for?"

In fact, Cole _was_ feeling great today considering the fact that he would be let off early from work to visit Jay in art class. He hadn't sleep well that night, however, as he couldn't stop thinking about his sketchbook and the slightest possibility that Jay could have it. If he had been any smarter, he probably would have marched right up to Jay's door, middle of the night, and demand that he hand it over. After all, Jay did lie quite often… he just felt like this was one of those times he _wouldn't_ lie to his face.

But, he had forgotten about his missing sketchbook the second he woke up. He hadn't even considered the thought of sliding it into his bag before he left for work… he just wanted nothing to go wrong and for today to be a perfect, fun, day.

"Tell me, Rumi," Cole started, leaning against the counter, "What could be better than leaving work early?"

In response, his boss scoffed and spun back around sharply. "Guess you don't like hanging out with me, huh?"

"Mm," Cole nodded wisely, typing away at the keyboard, "Smart move there, smart move, Rumi."

"I just want to make sure _all_ my employees feel like they have a friend in me. And in fact, you, Cole, are one of my closest friends."

"Aren't I like, one of your only friends?" Cole rolled his eyes.

"Hardly," she scoffed, "Children love when I read to them, Cole."

"Bet you they love me more," he smirked, scrolling through the store's webpage.

Rumi wrinkled her nose. "You're right. How can anyone resist a man like you?"

At those words, Cole closed his eyes and soon readied himself for what was to come.

"Oh, wait a sec… _Jay Walker_ , yeah, that's who. Gosh, if only he'd notice how _perfect you are for him._ "

Cole finally released a sigh, lowering his head into the flat surface, grimacing up at Harumi. Boy, did she love to joke around with Cole about his crush on Jay, and boy, did she love to constantly point out how blind Jay was. She was fairly certain that Cole was making his crush on Jay very clear - even Nya wasn't surprised when Cole told her.

"Really just stinks, doesn't it?" Rumi snapped her fingers and shook her head sadly. "Maybe he'll see something different when you show up to his art class today."

Cole tilted his head to the side. "He's just Jay being Jay."

"Hey, if you want something fun to do to pass the time, visit Arcadia Games, the website," Rumi added to lighten the mood just as the new intern snuck up behind her.

"Hello."

Startled, Rumi's shoulders inched forward and she turned around slowly, meeting the eyes of her new intern.

Harumi ran a hand through her soft, white hair while Cole chuckled softly to himself. "Hello! Very sorry, didn't hear you coming up behind me, Pixal."

"That is alright. I am ready for my first day as an intern!"

The manager smiled warmly at the intern's positive attitude. She stepped to the side and presented Cole to her. "Well, Pixal, this is Cole. He'll be giving you a brief tour of the store and then maybe you can set to work helping him out!" She looked to Cole. "Why don't you start with how we organize the books?" As she spoke, her eyes drifted around the store interior and she spotted Skylor from across the room.

"Skylor?" She called out as she started towards her, leaving Cole and Pixal alone.

Straightening his back and slamming his hands down on the counter, palms flat, Cole got Pixal's attention and smiled at her. "So," he began, walking around the counter to meet her, "I'll show you around!"

* * *

Jay slid into the classroom, noticing canvases circling the exterior. He took a seat near the back of the class where he found it his favorite spot since he could do anything he wanted without the teacher ever noticing. As he reached inside for his sketchbook, Zane came up beside him.

"Hey, Zane!" He beamed and set his sketchbook on the angled desk.

"Morning, Jay." Zane took a seat next to him as he usually did and peered around his friend. "Why leave that desk empty?"

Jay followed Zane's eyes to the desk to his right, closest to the wall. "Cole's coming today! I'm saving a spot for him in case he wanted to join us!"

Zane nodded at Jay's words. "He's actually coming to meet you this time? I must say, this is the first."

"I know right! I guess it had to happen eventually."

"I was actually planning to visit the bookstore after class, it's too bad you're not going."

Jay bit the inside of his cheek. "Maybe some other time? Speaking of, Cole told me they've got a new intern working there - her name's Pixal, I think… never met her before but you will today, huh?" Jay pulled his bag onto his lap and curled his fingers around Cole's sketchbook. "So how was your weekend, Zane?"

"Average," he sighed and pulled out a pencil, starting to sketch blindly. "How was yours?"

"Spent a lot of time with Cole… yeah." For a moment, a brief thought crossed his mind of showing the sketchbook to Zane and asking him whether or not he should peek inside. But he knew better than that. Zane was too good of a guy to ever do something like that, and he figured if he showed him, it would only make things worse. So, instead, he went with: "Cole lent me his sketchbook for the week!" And snagged said item from his bag, dropping it on top of his own.

Zane's eyes grew large. "Really? He _is_ a really great artist. It would definitely come in handy."

"I can't wait to go through it!" The brunette cheered, finally feeling that sense of joy after finally making his decision.

When class was in session, it dawned upon Jay that the canvases that were spread about the room weren't for his class but rather the one after his. For their new project, they would be tasked to create something abstract that represented their hopes, dreams, and the things that had meaning to them in their lives. Jay grinned. Now he'd have an even better excuse to go through his friend's sketchbook.

Cole meant nearly everything to him. No matter how insufferable Jay could be, his friend always found a way to deal with it, never leaving his side.

He was the one person - excluding his parents - he could rely on and vice versa.

The fact that Cole hadn't left him yet always filled Jay with a sense of belonging - it was something that kept his head high and pushed him forward in life.

The longer he thought about it, the more his gut turned as the guilt came back to him over opening Cole's sketchbook. His friend had set boundaries and specifically told him not to, and Jay was about to break those rules, possibly earning a disrespect from his best friend.

Maybe his gut was right. Maybe he shouldn't look through it and just leave it be.

All this thinking made Jay realize that he had sat through most of the introduction and that everyone else around him had already started on sketching out some ideas.

"What are you gonna draw, Zane?" He asked, picking up his pencil and opening his sketchbook to a fresh page.

Zane squinted at his free sketch, leaning his head to the right. "I'm not entirely sure yet, but I do want to try and include colors and patterns of ice on it."

"Hah, great choice, Zane…Ice is _really_ pretty."

His friend simply nodded before briefly looking at Jay. "I'm just taking a wild guess here, but you might use Cole's sketchbook for this project, won't you?"

Jay looked down, having forgotten that the sketchbook was still on his lap. He couldn't. Oh, Jay was torn.

"Maybe," he stammered, "I, I really shouldn't now that I think about it… I'll just come up with some things that speak _Cole_ off the top of my head, yanno? I've known him for over two years! I should know this stuff without looking through some silly book to help me out…"

Zane shrugged. "Perhaps there could be things that you _didn't_ know about inside that book."

Sad to say, but Zane was right. He didn't want to say it aloud, but Zane was truly, one hundred percent right.

Jay only found himself more tangled in a web of yes' and no's.

When he stole a glance in Zane's direction, he awed at the half done sketch of the interior of a house but also felt a surge of envy bubbling inside him.

Screw it, he thought and slammed the sketchbook down on his desk, opening the cover.

* * *

Cole wanted to say he liked the new intern.

And because of that, he felt the need to warn Pixal about Kai when he came back.

"You've met Skylor and Harumi, but there's one more employee that you haven't met," Cole started, ushering Pixal to the middle of the store.

"Why is he not here?"

"Thaaat's because Kai needed to leave with his sister to help her with a project for her photography class…" Cole lifted his head when he heard a distant panting. "Speak of the Devil…" he muttered and Pixal followed Cole's eyes to the front of the store.

"Sup, Rumi! Sky!" He called as he rushed to the center. "Cole! Buddy! How've ya been? Was Lloyd too much trouble for you?"

Cole ground his teeth together with a slight annoyance. "Lloyd's fine. But _I_ had to work extra a couple days after your leave, you know that?" He rolled his eyes.

"Can you really blame a guy for helping a sibling out? Which, by the way, Nya took some amazing photos! Wanna see?" He froze in the middle of pulling out his phone when Cole cleared his throat abnormally loud. Jerking his head up, Kai noticed Pixal. "Who's this?"

"Intern," Cole stated bluntly before jabbing a finger at Kai. "You two are going to spend some lovely time together while _I_ am away."

Kai blinked. "Hey, hey, _away_? Away where?"

"He's going to see Jay at his art class," Skylor butted in. "Good to see you again, Kai." She said with a smile.

Kai grinned sheepishly, quickly clearing his throat. " _You're_ going to meet _Jay_?" The brunette patted Cole hard on the back. "I'm proud of you buddy."

Cole growled low in his throat. Though nearly everyone loved to tease Cole over his crush on Jay, Kai was the worst of them all.

In fact, he always had been. Kai had been known to troll every single one of his friends until shame crumbled down on them and they couldn't take it anymore, getting back at Kai.

Cole, however, was not going to let Kai's bother get the best of him and he managed to keep it all in well enough than he thought.

"Kai, come on, cut it out," came Rumi from the front of the store. With an upsetting huff, Kai drew back and folded his arms, sharing a look with Skylor.

"Look at you two," Skylor started, "just like brothers. Teasing the heck out of each other."

Cole sent Skylor a sharp glare as she sauntered away with a light chuckle.

With an exhausted sigh, Cole kicked his feet off the counter and started for the door. "Well, it was fun, but I'm off."

Cole stepped out of the store, tying his coat around his waist as a cool breeze hit him. The weather today wasn't as nice as it had been yesterday. Though the sun was still shining, the temperature had dropped quite a bit and the winds were light and fluffy, plastering a smile upon Cole's face.

He glanced down at the time on his phone. Figuring he had quite a bit of time on his hands, he stopped by the bakery next-door and bought a handful of cookies.

It didn't take him long to reach the building Jay's art class was held in, and the second he reached the front door, he slid inside, hoping to surprise Jay for coming so early.

"Jay!"

At the cry of his name, Jay's head whipped up and he saw Cole heading his way with a bag full of cookies and a huge grin on his face.

Instinctively, Jay flailed his hands up in the air and struggled to push Cole's sketchbook back into his bag. Zane was not paying attention.

"Cole! Hah, wow you're early…" Jay gulped, kicking the bag further under his stool. "You bought cookies too…" he chuckled nervously.

"Yeah! I got some for you and Zane," Cole turned his head when he brought up Jay's art class buddy. "Hey, Zane."

"It is so good to see you again, Cole," the other replied with a soft smile.

"Cookie?" he asked as he handed a plain sugar cookie in his direction.

"Oh, hah, thank you!"

With a wink, Cole seated himself on the other side of Jay and offered the brunette one of the other cookies. Jay accepted graciously, looking back at his empty page of his sketchbook.

"Wow, Jay… you've been sitting here for so long and you haven't even done a _thing_." Cole set his belongings to the side and rested an arm on the desk. "Wanna draw something together? Think that'll help?"

Jay nodded excitingly and tore out a piece of blank paper, handing it to his friend, along with a pencil.

He was shocked that Cole hadn't brought up his missing sketchbook - especially in an art class where Cole had insisted on sketching with him.

In fact, just before Cole had arrived to meet Jay, he had only gotten through the front portion of his friend's sketchbook. It ended up looking like a diary on the inside. There were doodles everywhere but also little notes that Jay couldn't seem to understand. He was just about to get to the good part until Cole came in, interrupting his nosing through.

As he did look through the book, however, Jay drew some inspiration for what he wanted to attempt drawing for this project of his.

Cole's art was just _so good_.

Too good that it made Jay feel bad about his own.

He just didn't have the confidence in him. Which really sucked. He _wanted_ to feel confident about his own art.

"Any ideas?" Cole asked.

Jay looked to Cole with his eyebrows drawn near. "You're asking me?" Cole nodded. "I'm not that great…"

Cole rolled his eyes and nudged Jay playfully. "C'mon. There's gotta be at least _one_ thing out there that you feel you're a pro at drawing. Like that ladybug the other day? Or maybe something fun, like a cartoon?"

Jay squinted.

"Just think, Sparky."

His thoughts flashed back to the sketches inside of Cole's book.

There sure were a lot of flowers and plants…

"Can we try a rose?"

Cole's eyes snapped open. To him, a rose was a bit of a complicated flower to draw, what with all the petals, but if that's what Jay wanted to do then, "Um, yeah, why not?"


	7. A Single Pale Rose

**AH! Two uploads by me in one day! I wanted it to be three but I haven't finished the newest chapter for Face the Music yet. Who knows, it _could_ be finished by tonight... cause I won't have time to upload tomorrow since I'm going to be at Ace Comic Con for most of the day.**

 **Hrrh Steven Universe episode reference in the title XP**

 **But I hope you all enjoy this! And check out the two oneshots that Eve and I both did collabs on ^_^**

* * *

"What do you think of the new intern?" Jay asked, looking out the window.

"I like her," Cole answered and continued to talk on. Jay wasn't listening, though. Since he opened that sketchbook, he only grew more and more anxious to get home and finish going through it. The worst part about it was that every Monday, Cole would stay for dinner. And when he stayed over, he stayed over for _hours_. Jay wouldn't be able to get anything done if Cole was around. "You should meet her."

Jay caught that much and he laughed, lips forming a thin line. "Eh, and have Rumi try to force some more chores on me?" Cole rolled his eyes. "Maybe."

"Maybe if she didn't like you so much, she wouldn't ask you to help her out."

"Yeah, _right_. She only likes me cause she likes _you_."

Cole popped his eyes wide open. "She likes anyone who she can trust, _honestly_." The car made a sharp right turn and soon the junkyard was only a few yards away. "Hey, I know I usually stay for dinner on Mondays, but I got something to do. Is that cool with you?"

Jay flinched. Had he heard Cole _right_? Excitement bubbled through him but he did his best to hide it from his friend. "Why not?" He stammered, fighting the growing smile.

"I promised Nya I'd help her choose some photos for her presentation."

Jay's brows drew nearer. "Why can't Kai do that?"

"Lloyd has a karate tournament this Friday and his parents want Kai to stay with him at the dojo to make sure he gets all the practice he needs," Cole punched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Sorry, dude. I really wish I could stay-"

"No!" Jay shouted a little too loudly. Cole peered at him with one eye. "No, no, no! It's fine! Really! Maybe next time?"

A gentle smile crossed Cole's face and he dropped his hand. "Yeah, you're right - while we're still on the conversation of…" Cole looked to Jay briefly, "there's an art show this Wednesday. I was thinking we could spend the day there."

"But my class-"

"It's an art show, I'm sure the teacher wouldn't mind at all."

Jay bit his lip and looked down hesitantly. "Alright," he said, "Sure, why not?"

As soon as they pulled up, Jay hastily unbuckled his seat belt and pushed open the car door, throwing a leg out. Cole wondered what the rush was all about but didn't bother to ask. "Thanks for the ride!" Jay said to him as he hopped out of the car.

"Can't wait to see the rest of your art collage!" Cole called back to him, hoping Jay had heard him as the brunette was already halfway to the mobile home. Cole squeezed his eyes shut when he heard the trailer door slam shut and Jay was at last out of sight. Cautiously, he backed out of the junkyard, looking back at the trailer once in a while thinking Jay was still standing out there.

Inside, Jay kicked his shoes off to the side and quickly started for his room. He hadn't a minute to lose, not when the sketchbook was right here and he was alone without Cole having to look over his shoulders.

"Jay, was that you?" His mom suddenly asked from the kitchen.

Jay groaned inwardly - it was impossible to escape his parents. "Yep, I'm home, Ma!" He shut his mouth when a scented aroma filled the air around him and traveled up his nose. "Hang on a sec, is that… _macaroni and cheese_?" Excitingly, he left his bag on one of the side tables and slid into the kitchen, a hungry look in his eyes.

"Oh, it's just you, dear?"

"Y-Yeah, is something wrong?"

"Oh, I thought Cole was staying for dinner today-"

"Something came up and he had to help Nya with her presentation for photography," Jay told her. "But that's fine! Just means more Mac and Cheese for us!"

Edna giggled and cupped her son's cheek in her hand fondly. "Oh, Jay."

* * *

"... the flowers in this photo look really pretty, and they take up a good third of it too. You should definitely use this one." Agreeing with Cole, Nya dragged a copy of the photo to her photography class folder and scrolled down to show more of the pictures she had taken. "Well, this one's a little angled funny… oh! I like this one! The shot of the water hitting the rocks is amazing!"

"Thanks, Cole," Nya dragged a couple more photos to the folder, "I actually enjoy taking pictures of nature more than anything else. It's amazing what you can see from one shot."

"Hah, yeah…" Cole said softly, staring at her laptop screen. As she continued to scroll, Cole's eyes noticed one that looked like a rose and he unknowingly leaned closer. "Hey, is that… a rose?"

Nya's eyes followed Cole's finger to the picture he was pointing at. "Ah, yeah." She double clicked on the photo and it filled the entire screen, causing Cole to jump back.

Cole studied it carefully, then pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket. It was the drawing of a rose Jay had done earlier today in art class with Cole. Jay didn't want it, so Cole has stolen the drawing and tucked it away without Jay noticing.

The young woman saw the paper in Cole's hands and she awed silently. "Did you draw that?"

Cole looked down and then at Nya. "Jay did, actually."

"Jay? Well that's amazing!"

"I know…" he said in a whisper, tracing his fingers over the outline of the petals. "I wish he knew how great he was at this stuff. He's so - he's not confident in himself or his abilities."

Nya smiled. "He looks up to you, Cole."

"He looks up to me to the point where he envies everything I do." Cole sighed. "It makes _me_ feel like _I'm_ doing something wrong."

"But you're not." Cole turned his head when he felt a hand on his thigh. "Everyone gets jealous over something. It's a hard feeling to deal with, but you just gotta deal with it and learn to put that jealousy to the side."

Cole stiffened, then held the rose up again, taking in all the details of the flower. "It's so weird. The rose he drew looks so pale compared to the one I colored in," he took out his drawing of said flower and placed it side by side with Jay's. "It's like it's faded… it's kind of depressing."

Nya caught the sad expression on Cole's face. she closed her laptop gently, standing up. Cole's eyes followed as she headed for the kitchen. She turned her head to look back at Cole, halfway in.

"How about we take a little break, you know, drink a little something and relax?"

Cole silently agreed and slumped back in his chair as he waited for Nya to return with snacks and drinks.

His mind wandered back to the flowers occasionally and he started to wonder why Jay had chosen a rose in particular. For his whole life he'd known Jay, the smaller one had never shown as much interest in flowers as he did to animals and birds. Cole, on the other hand, _loved_ flowers, heck his sketchbook was filled with small doodles of flowers.

Cole gulped at being reminded of his missing sketchbook. He had forgotten about it for a while now but it just _had_ to come back at him and fill his head with thoughts he didn't want. Thoughts like Jay finding out about his crush on him.

He had to find out if Jay had it.

After all, he knew Jay, and when he got his hands on something as prized as his sketchbook, he would do anything to keep anyone from finding out he had it.

"I just remembered something," Cole called to Nya. "I need to be somewhere in like ten minutes. You don't mind if I leave right now, do you?"

Nya poked her head out from the kitchen, setting two halfway filled drinks on the counter. "Oh, you're leaving?"

"We can do this again tomorrow," he assured her, packing his things.

"That's alright… um, maybe I'll stop by the bookstore tomorrow."

"Sounds _great_ , Nya. Sorry I couldn't stay long. I'll see you tomorrow!" And with that, he shut the door, starting for his car.

Who knew a drawing of a single pale rose could hide so much?

* * *

Edna pulled out the finally baked macaroni and cheese from the oven and set it on the stove. At the same time, Jay was setting up the table, laying down the bowls, glasses, and silverware.

In the middle of it all, there was an obnoxious loud knock on the door, causing Jay's shoulders to hunch forward.

"I'll get it," Jay said, pushing away from the counter while his mom took out the juice. Jay paced himself to the door, wondering who it could be.

"What do you wa…" Jay stood immobile in front of his best friend at the front of their trailer. He tossed a brief glance over his shoulder and saw his parents still too occupied to see Cole. "Cole?" He stuttered. "I, I thought you said you couldn't make it."

"Slight change in plans," Cole peered over his shoulder to look inside. He closed his eyes when the smell of cheese enveloped him. "Is that macaroni and cheese, I smell? Woo hoo!" He made his first move inside but Jay stood in his path.

"Who is that, dear?" came his mother's voice. Jay looked back at Cole and frowned.

"It's Cole." Cole exchanged the look.

"H-Hang on, just a sec… why did you just decide to come over? Couldn't you just have had dinner at home, or something?" Jay gnawed on the inside of his cheek frustratingly, practically pleading for Cole to go away.

"It's still Monday which means it's not too late for me to come over, right, Sparky?" Cole tossed back confidently.

Jay growled inwardly. Cole was right. He didn't know how else he could convince him to leave. "Now outta the way, dude." He crossed his arms over his chest as he stepped to the side, letting Cole inside his home. From the corner of his eyes, a square shaped bag sat on the open table and Jay stiffened, following as Cole's figure walked straight past it. His body relaxed the second his friend had left the bag unnoticed and he quickly rushed to toss the bag somewhere in his room.

"So! Cole… heh heh, just staying for dinner?" Jay asked, bouncing towards his friend.

Cole wrinkled his nose, "Actually, I thought I might see if I left the sketchbook here. You know, take a look around myself? I know you already said you didn't see it, and it's not that I don't trust you, buuut I'm just going to do a quick check. Okay?"

Jay's stomach sunk. Cole was here for his sketchbook. And he had no doubt that Cole would get to it before he could even find it a better hiding place.

What would Cole do when he found out?

Jay's eyes fell to the ground. All he really needed was time and a way to hide the book in a spot so safe and so out of thought, that Cole wouldn't even _think_ of looking there… and then he would be safe.

"It's so nice to see you again, Cole," Edna said, passing by him. "How's the job? Jay told me ya got an intern now, is that right?"

The dark haired man nodded, resting his arms on the kitchen counter. "She's oddly _really_ nice. You'd love her if you get the chance to meet her."

Jay couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Speaking of, you know Zane actually went to the bookstore a little after you came to my art class?"

Cole raised a bushy brow and tilted his head to the right. "Really?" He ran a hand through his dark hair, smiling at the thought of Zane and Pixal together. "Hah, gosh, Pixal is _just_ like him… I gotta ask Rumi what happened while I was gone," he whispered to himself, looking in the other direction.

"You think you can help my mom set up for dinner? My Dad's somewhere outside trying to patch up the old jalopy," Jay rolled his shoulders and flashed a quirky grin.

"What are you going to be doing?"

Cole was _onto_ him.

"I, uh, I need to take care of something in my room…" The brunette bit down on his lip, eyes searching the kitchen to for ideas for an excuse. "I think I left a glass in there."

"I can help you look for that," Cole offered, starting after Jay, who was already moving to his room.

"Aw, hah, naw! I got everything covered. Besides, my mom would love if you stayed here and helped, wouldn't you, Ma?" He peered around Cole, innocently gazing at his mother who stood graciously in the kitchen with a bowl of creamy Mac and cheese in front of her.

"Come here n' I'll show ya where the bowls are, dear," said Edna as she waved for Cole to come over.

But Cole was aware of what Jay was trying to do and he _wasn't_ going to let it slide. If Jay really did have his sketchbook, he needed it _back_.

Finally, he cleared his throat for added effect and spun around on his heels, starting for Jay's mother. "Alright, but we've gotta check out your room _after_ dinner."

"Oh hoh, sounds good with me."

When Cole was finally out of sight, Jay marched right into his room and yanked the sketchbook out of his bag, searching his room for _any_ good hiding place. _Anywhere_. Then it hit him. What if he took another peek inside the book? It wouldn't hurt anyways. After all, he didn't get very far back in class all because Cole had shown up early.

He looked under his bed, debating whether he should just slide it right under until it hit the wall. "Nah," he said with a shake of his head and checked for any other spots. Drawers, no. Closet, no. Suddenly, the thought of taking it to his parents room crossed his room and he ran across the hall to his parents room. Inside, he found that it was much cleaner than his and he had no choice but to look for some place else. Maybe his parents work room? Jay gritted his teeth together, but that was all the way on the other side of the trailer _past_ the kitchen.

"My room it is," he huffed and forced his legs to drag him back into his messy room. "Come on, Jay, _think_. Where can you hide it?"

As he searched the room once more, he could hear his mother's voice in the back of his head, telling him that dinner was ready. Jay only ignored it. His eyes landed on his high shelf and a light went off in his head. He just needed something tall to step on…

"Did you get dad inside?" Jay asked, poking his head inside the kitchen.

Cole whirled around, startled. "You're _back_. Where's the dirty glass?"

At first, Jay had no idea what he was talking about, but he looked down at his hands and realized his mistake in an instant. "Oh! Guess there was no dirty glass. Probably took it out earlier," he said with a shrug, briskly brushing past Cole to his seat at the table.

Minutes later, they were all seated at the table, eating and talking away. Jay had brought up the conversation, suggesting that they talk about the first year when he and Cole met.

They all seemed to be enjoying themselves and for the first time in what felt like forever, Jay didn't care that Cole was better than him, or in his head; he _liked_ having Cole around. Although his jealousy was hard to control, he couldn't imagine a world without his best friend. Not only that, but Jay was actually considering giving Cole his sketchbook _back_.

Unfortunately that didn't last.

Once they had finished dinner, Jay led Cole to his room, throwing his arms out as if to say "ta-da!" and show off his junkyard of a room which Cole had already seen so many times.

"Tell me when you find what you're looking for," Jay told him as he collapsed onto the bed.

Cole didn't answer and only set on searching Jay's room for his sketchbook. He checked the drawers, closet, shelves, under the bed, and even under all of Jay's junk scattered across the floor.

"Find it yet?" Jay asked slyly, "I told you, I don't have it. Why don't you trust me?"

Cole rolled his eyes and checked every place again, making sure he didn't leave any rock unturned. "I said I do trust you, Jay."

"Ah hah, uh, no you didn't." He jumped off the bed and kneeled down beside Cole. "First of all, you never explicitly stated that. You said 'it's not that I don't trust you' which could totally mean you _don't_ trust me! And secondly, if you _did_ trust me, you wouldn't be going through all my _things_ right now!"

With a scoff, Cole dropped the pile of Jay's dirty clothes he had currently been holding. "Fine, you don't want me going through your things like some search party? Tell me then, do you have it?"

Jay huffed. "See, you don't trust me." He folded his arms and looked away, his brows drawn together, clearly upset at his friend.

Cole jabbed a finger in his direction. "I know you, and I know you like to lie, I know you like to snoop around in other people's belongings, and I _know_ you'd do anything to keep your hands on something that _isn't_ _yours_."

"Do you _trust_ me?"

Cole blinked. He drew back.

"Well?"

He didn't know what to say… he wanted to say yes, but he also wanted to say no. Jay wasn't a simple guy, and Cole wanted to tell him that, but now just wasn't the right time.

So what else could he say?

"Of course. I trust you."

Eased, Jay mustered a smile and met Cole's eyes once more.

"Then I don't have it."


	8. No More Secrets

**Hunted?! Today/Tonight?! (If you're in the USA and on Youtube) It's more likely that you thought! AH I'm so pumped!**

 **Buuuut anyways :))))**

* * *

Jay could tell how hard Cole was holding back from searching through any more of Jay's belongings, even after the 'trust' debacle. However, several minutes later and Cole was out the door, mumbling inaudible words to himself while Jay watched him leave from the door.

As soon as his friend was out of sight, Jay sped towards his room, shut the door, and dove for a stool to hoist him up high and snatch the sketchbook from the top of his shelf. He held the flimsy book in his hands and crashed into his bed.

This was it.

He would finally read _everything_ that was inside the so sketchbook that Cole had banned him from snooping through.

He would finally find out what it was that Cole was keeping to himself.

He would _finally_ put his curious thoughts to rest.

Although deep down he knew it was wrong, that didn't stop Jay from opening the sketchbook to where he left off.

Then, he started to read.

There were multiple drawings of small chibi faces, each one expressing a different feeling. Another page in, Jay found a picture that looked strangely familiar. It was a sketch of his favorite plush toy: Mr. Cuddlywumps. His parents had bought Mr. Cuddlywumps for him on his fifth birthday. Still, since that day, Jay made sure to always have him by his side when he slept as a sense of comfort.

A couple pages later and Jay came across something insanely cool.

It was like a journal, documenting a certain week - the week he and Cole went to the carnival - but instead of words and entries, there were clumps of drawings here and there with little labels on the side.

There was a drawing of the prize Jay won for Cole…

" _You sure you wanna do this?" Cole asked him, leaning against the booth._

 _Jay smacked his lips, picking up one of the metallic rings and aiming it for a bottle. "Do you want the prize?"_

" _I don't_ have _to have it…" He answered. Jay raised his scarred brow, knowing that there was a 'but' in that sentence. Huffing, Cole pointed to the penguin sitting at the back of the booth. "But would you really say_ no _to that?"_

 _Seeing how Cole wanted that penguin badly, Jay made his first throw, and out of chance, landed the ring over a bottle perfectly._

" _Only 9 more to go!" Jay told Cole, picking up another ring and getting ready to let go._

A drawing of the ice cream stand they found…

" _The map says to turn right… but I don't see anything." Cole looked to and fro from the map to the empty dock before him._

" _Gimme that!" Jay growled and tore the map from his friend's hand, looking at it from all sorts of angles. "This is stupid! Maybe we took a wrong turn ages ago and messed the whole thing up! Some treasure map this was… why did we even want to play the game? Ugh!"_

 _Cole rolled his eyes as Jay continued to complain, stomping back and forth with his hands clenched. He took the map back from Jay and started to retrace their steps that led them_ here _._

" _Jay!" He called, noticing something off. His friend stopped marching and ran to Cole's side, looking over his shoulder at the map. "I think I know what we did wrong… it's over there!"_

A drawing of the bumper cars-

 _As soon as the gate opened, Jay ran inside the rink, hopping into an orange car. Across from him, Cole hopped into a blue car, hands on the wheel and a devious smirk._

 _Suddenly, there was a loud honk and all the cars began to drive around, bumping into one another._

 _Jay specifically eyed Cole during the first round and he drove his car towards the blue one, slamming into it._

 _Cole grunted and regained his composure before breaking on the pedal and speeding back at Jay._

 _The orange car swiveled and quickly dodged Cole's attack. Jay laughed wildly, grinning. "Why did you want to do this again?" Cole drawled._

" _Bumper cars are fun!" Jay tightened his hands around the wheel. "Plus, I can't have you beating me at_ everything _, can I?"_

\- the pier and the photo booth.

" _Okay, I'm assuming you have five dollars somewhere, yes?" Cole fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat, thumbing through his pockets. A smile inched its way across his face when he felt something and he pulled his hand out, waving the bill in front of him. It was twenty dollars. Cole sighed. "Cause I definitely do not."_

 _While Cole was struggling to find five dollars exact, Jay had fished out his wallet and pulled a single five dollar bill out, handing it to Cole._

 _Before sliding the bill into the machine, Cole fixed his penguin prize in the middle, sitting on each of their thighs._

" _Okay," He started, feeding the five dollars into the cash acceptor…_

The fond memories he shared with Cole those days caused a growing smile to creep up his face. Seeing as Cole recorded these memories in particular made Jay's heart clench. If this was what Cole was trying to hide… then why hide it? It wasn't so bad, in fact, in made Jay happier than ever.

He flipped to the next page and suddenly those happy thoughts were gone, replaced with a mix of jealousy, frustration, and a horrible aching.

Anatomy sketches, all over the page. Jay knew how much Cole hated anatomy and how difficult it was for him with real people, but even his sketches seemed professional. It was like Cole didn't even try and still somehow managed to make them look straight out of a book.

A light went off in his head and he rushed to his paper filled desk, searching for his own sketchbook and pencil.

What if he tried to _copy_ Cole's doodles?

* * *

"Should I trust him, Cole?" Climbing out of his car, he started to the house door. "He's your friend, why wouldn't you? … But you know he's hiding something, heck, he probably even has it." Cole stopped in front of the door, taking a deep breath.

"What will he think of you then when he finds out?" Cole visibly shivered. The last thing he wanted was for Jay to reject him completely. He rather keep Jay as a friend than let him go. And that was what feared Cole the most.

His hand slid down his leg, feeling for the keys inside his bag - when he realized he didn't _have_ his bag on him.

"Aw, stupid!" Cole yelled, running back to the car and peering through the windows for any shape that ought to look like his bag. "Oh… no…" He muttered, recalling the last place he saw it-

The bookstore.

"Gosh, you just can't think straight today, huh, can you, Cole?" He spoke bitterly to himself, checking his watch. At this hour, the bookstore was already closed and Cole had no way of getting inside.

A laugh.

"Do you always talk to yourself this much?"

Cole spun around sharply on his heels, coming face to face with his manager.

"I don't talk to myself that much. I mean, sometimes, but not _that_ much. I mean, it's only when I just kind of…" Cole gave up, letting his body slump forward. "Okay, what are you doing here, Rumi?"

"You can't get inside if you don't have these, amiright?" She sauntered over to Cole's door, pulling out his missing bag, and then his house keys. "Unless you want to stay out here for the rest of the night… Mind if I come inside?"

Relieved, Cole accepted the keys from Harumi and opened the door, holding it open for her.

"Help yourself."

"I've never been inside your house before," Rumi started, kicking her shoes to the side. "It's small, but cozy. I like it."

Cole mustered a smile, fetching a couple glasses from the kitchen cupboards. "Drink?"

"Whatever floats your boat." Rumi squatted down in front of the television, taking in all the game consoles that decorated the table. "And I mean water, of course."

"You've got quite a lot of video games," she awed, picking a couple of them up at a time and reading the back of their cases. "Didn't know you were a gamer kind of person."

"Hah, funny you mention that actually," Cole said, coming out of the kitchen holding one glass in each hand. "They're actually mostly Jay's. He doesn't have enough room in his trailer, so, likely choice, he asked me to hold them for him."

Harumi plucked the glass from the coffee table and took a sip from the water, sitting cross legged on the floor.

"Speaking of Jay, how did your visit go?" She leaned closer, a sky smirk gracing her features. "Did you tell him?"

"No!" Cole shouted abruptly, jolting upright. Rumi drew back, alarmed. "Sorry, I, I didn't mean for it to come out that way. Er, no… I don't know if I ever will."

"What's got you so nervous anyways? You've been friends for almost four years exact, I'm sure whatever happens, that won't change the fact that you two are still best friends."

"Boy, you really don't know Jay as well as I do," Cole chuckled with a shake of his head.

Rumi twirled her glass around, watching the water make ripples. She grimaced. "You're right. I don't. After all, who would know him better? A gal who knows him through one of her best employees, or his best friend?"

Cole grinned. "He's… he's like a flower."

"A flower?"

"Beautiful, delicate, hah, colorful." A smile tickled it's way up Cole's face at the thought of him. "He loves the sunshine. Anytime we go outside in the sun he just gets so _happy_ \- it's like he's filled with this _limitless_ amount of energy. Like a plant that uses its outer beauty to fool others, he can be a real meanie. Hah, he can get real up in your face if you do _one_ thing to tick him off."

Cole was blushing now.

"But, too much of one thing, and a plant becomes damaged. And Jay, he overthinks things. A lot. He lets the little things get to him. Not to mention that he's already jealous of _me_."

Rumi frowned. "Jealous of you?"

Cole's eyes flickered to the carpet and he held his tongue, not wanting to say anymore. "He has my sketchbook - or at least, I'm pretty sure he does."

Rumi scrambled to her feet. "He has your sketchbook?" Being someone other than Jay, Cole was able to share with Rumi what was inside his sketchbook and why he was so strict on Jay about it.

"He told me to trust him, and I said I did. He told me he didn't have it, so all I could do was just _leave_." Cole collapsed back onto the sofa, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's all south from here on out."

"Well, what are you gonna do when he finds out?"

"Tell him myself? Admit it? Live with it. I guess…

I can't run from it anymore."

* * *

Many, many, pages later of attempting to copy Cole's sketches, Jay gave up and tossed his entire sketchbook onto the floor, slumping in his chair.

" _There's gotta be at least_ one _thing out there that you feel you're a pro at drawing."_

Cole's words ran through his head constantly, never seeming to go away.

Just maybe, he should try to listen to Cole about that.

Everyone had _something_ they felt comfortable drawing. For Cole, it appeared to be flowers.

Jay picked up his pencil once more and pulled out a fresh piece of printer paper, tapping his pencil against his desk.

And for Jay… he would draw a ladybug again.

However, all this struggling to be as great as an artist as Cole had been distracting him from what he was really trying to do. Cole's sketchbook was closed and set off to the side and had gone untouched for a several minutes.

There was just too much on his mind at once.

"You know…" Jay started, picking up the sketchbook and opening it to where he left off. "Drawing can wait. But Cole's secrets _can't_."

Page after page he flipped, desperate to find anything that could be considered a secret.

All he got were drawings after drawings. But Jay eventually came to ignore each drawing, his mind set on looking for the words that read _secret_.

Seeing that it was almost midnight already, Jay was about to call it a night and give up, ready to continue tomorrow… that was until he got a better idea.

Cautiously, he picked up the book and held it above his floor, and _shook_.

He shook the book with everything he had, hoping a page or something, anything, would fall out onto the floor.

And to his surprise, something did.

"Yes!" He cheered, aware that his parents were probably fast asleep at this hour. "Oh, hoh, I gotcha now, Cole!"

He got down on his knees and reached for the folded up paper, grinning mischievously.

"Just _wait_ till I bust him in the bookstore tomorrow!"

Jay started to unfold it.

"Hah! Cole's going to be so- uh…"

 _I'm in love with Jay._


	9. What's Awkward? You're Awkward

**Wow Hunted is just AMAZING isn't it? Anyways, glad I got this chapter out before my four hour shift XD**

* * *

Zane tried his best to manage time today. His plan was to finish at least his sketch for his final art project, but his class friend was keeping him from doing anything. It was hard to concentrate on anything when the person next to you was having his own little problem. A series of grunts and groans left Jay as he drew mindless circles on his sketchbook.

"Jay, are you okay?"

A second passed before Jay answered.

"What was that, Zane?" Jay asked, his voice partially muffled by his hand.

"Something is bothering you, but I cannot tell what it is. Are you okay, Jay?"

Jay scoffed, opening to a fresh page. "Whoever said I'm not okay is clearly wrong then, hah, hah," Jay pressed his pencil down harder on the pad of paper. "I didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all."

Genuinely, that was the truth. Jay _hadn't_ got enough sleep that night he learned about Cole's crush on him.

The questions flew at him like cannons firing from a pirate ship.

How long had Cole kept this a secret?

Who else knew?

How had he never noticed?

Why did he want it all to be a lie?

He never actually like _liked_ someone before. Jay bit the inside of his cheek. 'Like like' sounded like something a five year-old would say. He never actually… _admired_ , someone before. Trying to seduce girls with Kai was kind of just their thing - they were more _infatuations_ than actual love.

But Cole? …Cole was his friend.

Knowing that his best friend was in love with him didn't change his way of seeing his friend, right?

He just… didn't want to deal with any of it now.

In fact, he had asked his parents to drop him off at art class today instead of catching a ride with Cole. Knowing this only made things awkward for him.

Of course, he didn't want Cole to think something was up - heck, he _lied_ to him about not having Cole's almost diary - so he told his friend that he woke up late and didn't want to keep Cole from coming into work on time. Unfortunately, he would be riding back home with Cole since his parents were too busy to pick him up.

"I sense whatever it is, it is distracting you from improving on your art," Zane blurted through Jay's thoughts.

"Yeah, well, it's nothing."

Zane gestured to the sketchbook and picked it up, flipping through the previous pages. "You haven't drawn anything but circles for the past hour. Jay, I'm worried."

Jay shakily drew in a breath, plopping down on the floor and starting for the door.

"Where are you going, Jay?" Zane asked.

"I'll be back in a bit!" He said right before pushing the door open and sliding into the bathroom.

He looked himself in the eyes from his reflection, jabbing a finger in his direction.

Sometimes, all he needed was a little push from himself. He found this helpful once when he was stuck at a party and hid in the bathroom for what felt like eternity, until Cole pleaded for him to come out.

"You, are his friend, Jay." He started, trying to sound confident. "So what if your best friend has a crush on you, and you don't know how long it's been and you've been completely oblivious to it all! You are his friend and that doesn't change a thing! You hear me?" He shouted, raising his voice louder.

Jay snorted, running a shaky hand through his hair.

"Besides, it's not like you're in love with him too."

* * *

Cole was falling asleep at the front counter since no one had came by his customer service help for the past half an hour. Skylor and Harumi were conversing at the cafe next door while Kai was skipping around the bookstore with nothing better to do. To Cole's left stood the new intern, watching the door intently for any new customers.

"What should we do now, Cole?" She asked him after several minutes had passed.

Cole was yanked back into reality at the sound of Pixal's voice and he looked around tiredly, trying to make sense of what had happened just recently.

"Oh, um, well…" Cole's voice trailed off when he spotted Kai sitting on the table with a book in hand and a cold drink by his side. "Where did Rumi and Sky go?"

"They are next door. Harumi told me to tell you not to worry. They will be back shortly."

Cole groaned. "And how long ago was that?"

"Forty five minutes ago."

"Yeah, alright. _Shortly_. Why do I have to do everything myself?" With a grunt, Cole hopped over the counter, urging Pixal to meet him on the other side. "Okay, so since it's just us two, how about you go see if there are any books that need reorganizing?"

"Of course, Cole." And with a smile, she set off to the back of the store.

Cole looked around shortly after and seeing how no one was in need of customer service at the moment, he kicked off towards the shelves at the front of the store.

He spotted some books lying around the top of other already neatly shelved books and decided to take care of them.

Last night after Rumi left, Cole settled for some cold juice and popcorn, staying up all night to watch a movie to take his mind off of things. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't seem to keep his eyes open for as long as he thought and fell asleep on the couch, not even halfway into the movie.

Unlike Jay who claimed to have woke up 'late', Cole still woke up on time.

Soon enough, the front doors opened and Harumi and Skylor walked in, each carrying a shakes in their hands. Skylor went up to front counter and looked around, then to Cole.

"Where's Pixal? I brought her a…" Skylor lifted the cup to read the label, "strawberry banana shake."

Cole blinked. "She's in the back, reorg-" But before he could say anymore, Skylor was already gone.

Cole frowned and got back to shelving books.

"Heard from Rumi that you were locked out of your house last night, huh?" Cole's eye his trailed up until they settled upon Kai's features. He scoffed and rolled his eyes, continuing to organize the

randomly placed books. "Aw, come on, really man? So what are you up to tomorrow?"

"Art show," Cole responded in a hushed tone.

"Art show?"

With a grunt, Cole picked himself off the ground and put a hand on his hip, frowning at Kai. "You gonna stand there and talk, or are you going to make use of yourself?"

Kai raised his hands in defeat. "Alright. Alright, I'll go see what else I can do."

As soon as Kai left, Harumi stepped into view. "Here," she said, offering Cole the second drink she had been holding. "You didn't really think I'd leave to a cafe and _not_ get you something, would you?"

The employee smiled and accepted the cup, thanking her.

"You seem a little, I dunno, what's the word… _moody_. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's _not_ okay." Cole spotted some more carelessly placed books and squatted down on the carpet. He sighed. "Jay called me this morning saying that he couldn't hitch a ride with me. What if he found out? It wasn't supposed to happen that way… it wasn't supposed to _be_ that way."

The second the doors opened, Cole's head went up. Disappointment flashed across his face when the stranger who had entered didn't turn out to be Jay.

Harumi frowned and got on her knees.

"You thought it was Jay."

"I thought it was Jay."

They said at the same time. A small part of him, however, was glad that it hadn't been Jay.

Harumi noticed the disappointment and fear in Cole's eyes. "Cole, he's your best friend. I'm sure you two can work it out somehow."

"I thought I told you last night. This isn't going to be easy." Cole stood collected three books and shelved them to his right. He dropped his head against the shelf and sighed. "I wish I had checked first before leaving my sketchbook in the last place I'd ever want it to be. I, I wish his _parents_ had found it instead."

"Cole,"

"I wish I wasn't in love with him." He lifted his eyes and turned to the door slowly. "Why couldn't we just be friends, you know?"

"Don't _say_ things like that. So what if you feel differently about him, I'd hate to see that be the reason why you can't be friends anymore. It'll just have to take some- "

At that moment, the doors swung open and Jay walked in, holding onto his shoulder bag like his life depended on it. Cole stood up and shot a welcoming smile at Jay.

"Hey," he held his tongue, stopping himself from calling Jay by all those nicknames that he had made a list of. "You."

"Hi," Jay tossed a brief glance at his friend, proceeding to walk like Cole wasn't there.

Cole rolled his eyes and firmly grabbed Jay's shoulder, holding him back. "Hey, don't walk away like I'm not here." Jay kept his eyes trained on the floor, feeling his body locking up at the action.

"I- sorry. My mind is elsewhere today."

Cole's stomach twisted at those words. He stole a glance at Rumi, who mustered a half smile to her favorite worker.

"How far are you on your art project?" Cole asked, trying to strike a conversation and deliver a different topic.

"Not that far, really. I was-" Jay hesitated for a moment, looking into Cole's eyes, "-I was watching Zane. You know, see if I could learn anything from him. Hah, hah."

"Whaaaat about you? How's... your..." he closed an eye, mentally cringing, "... job?" Jay mentally facepalmed.

"Oh, boy! You are funny, Jay!" Cole boomed, hoping his laugh was convincing enough. "I've been working here for what... quite a looooong time. Hah... hah..."

"Well you _know_ , what else is there that's going on, that's _exciting_ in life!? You know?" Jay cracked a nervous grin.

"Did you say Zane?" came Pixal's voice from behind. Cole whirled around and saw her getting closer, two books tucked comfortably under her arm. "Did he come with you today, Jay?"

The brunette stared at Pixal for a moment, trying to stick faces with names. "I- are you Pixal?" Jay chuckled nervously, running a hand through his curls. "I don't think we've actually _met_."

"You haven't! Yeah!" Cole's grin widened, seeing this as an opportunity to lighten the mood a bit. "Jay, this is Pixal; Pixal this is Jay, my… my best friend." Why did he hesitate there? A brief look to Jay and he could also tell that his friend had this questioning look in his eyes, wondering why he paused for a second before saying "best friend".

"It's nice to meet you, Pixal!" Jay cheered, looking past Cole's stuttering.

Rumi shared a look of concern with Cole. He almost sighed of relief. At least there was someone else who knew of the situation other than Jay. Someone Cole could trust.

"Hey, Jay," Rumi spoke up, bringing a smile on Cole's face, "Why don't you help Pixal in the back, rearranging the kid books?"

For a second, Jay stood there, blinking stubbornly at Cole as if he hadn't heard Rumi at all. Cole only stared back with a convincing enough smile, pleading inside that Jay had heard her.

"Oh-um, sure!" He finally said, and a wave of relief washed over Cole.

When Pixal and Jay were out of earshot, Rumi sauntered up to Cole, one hand over the other arm. "So, art show tomorrow, huh?"

Cole chuckled softly, forcing himself to believe that it wasn't a big deal when it was. Spending a whole day with Jay, after he figured it all out? No big deal, he told himself.

"Yeah. I, I got this."

"You know you could always _not_ go…"

Cole shook his head glumly. "I'm already taking Jay home, so what's the worst that could happen, right? Besides, I'll probably just tell him tomorrow that… I _used_ to have a crush on him. That can't do any harm, right? That should make things a little less awkward than they are now."

"But… that's not… true? Is it?"

"It's not. Rumi. It's not." Cole's eyes averted to the back where he saw Jay excitingly chatting it up with the intern. "I just don't know what else I can do right now."


	10. I'm Sorry I'm in Love With You

**Well, this chapter sure did make it out! Hoo, can't believe it! Thought I'd have to delay it a bit because of my family's trip to Canada. On that note, I will get to replying to all your reviews when I get the chance during our trip! Enjoy!**

* * *

Jay wanted to scream at himself for hours.

The second Cole had dropped him off at home, he sprinted to his room and buried his face in his pillow, holding out a loud scream.

It was safe to say that their carpool home from the bookstore… was awful.

Cole had tried to fill in the silence by turning up the radio, but as he did that, Jay only got more anxious, fidgeting constantly in his seat. Jay knew that his friend had learned about his crush on him, alright. The thing was, none of them had the guts to tell each other about it. They kept it inside and instead only continued to grow more awkward around each other.

"Jay, dear, are you alright?" He heard his mother ask from the other side of his closed door. Jay immediately stopped his muffled screaming and jolted up in bed, turning sharply to the door.

"Yes, Mom! I'm fine!" He lied. _I messed up. Really bad._

"Oh, are you sure, honey? You've been screamin' for a while now."

Jay bit his lip. He wanted to cry. He wanted his mom to leave.

"I'm fine, Mom! Really! Just go do your quilting or whatever!"

"Alright, dear. I'll only be a few rooms away if ya ever need something."

"Thanks, Mom."

When the footsteps of his mother were fading away, Jay threw himself back in bed, throwing his hands over his eyes.

He knew he messed up.

Why did he have to open that sketchbook? Why was he so _nosy_? There was a thing called personal space!

Now things between him and Cole were… weird! And it had only been one day!

Jay rolled to his side and groaned.

He pried his fingers apart and peeked through the gap, eyes landing on Cole's sketchbook - which he had completely forgotten was even with him in the first place.

He remembered when Cole had given him strict rules not to touch his sketchbook. Cole had been very specific and sounded dead serious when telling him. At the same time, he remembered Cole getting so worked up about a single question that it had sparked a surge of curious within him.

 _"Rule number one," Cole started, holding his sketchbook in his hands. "_ Never _touch my sketchbook. Ya got it?"_

 _"Why not? You got a little secret you're hiding in there?" Jay teased. He hasn't actually expected Cole to respond. And even better, Cole responded by his cheeks burning up!_

 _"It's not a secret," he stuttered. Jay could tell he was trying to remain calm._

 _"_ Someone's _getting a little flustered. What are you hiding, Dirtclod?"_

 _Cole hesitated, desperate to come up with something. "I'm just not so confident about my art at the moment…" he lied._

 _Jay's stomach dropped. Cole? Not confident in his own art? That man had talent!_

 _He bumped Cole's arm playfully and grinned. "Dude! You're literally an inspiration! Don't feel bad!"_

 _Cole chuckled, accepting his lie. "Just promise me you won't ever look?"_

 _At first, Jay was hesitant to nod. Telling someone not to look in something was like telling someone not to look down!_

 _Finally, he agreed._

 _"Thanks, bro. I'm serious though. You take one look in here and…" Cole's voice trailed off and Jay's eyes widened in response._

 _"What is it?"_

 _At first, Cole had lost himself until a couple seconds later and he looked back down at Jay. "Just… don't."_

* * *

As soon as Cole got home, he picked up his phone and started dialing, then carried it with him into the kitchen. As the phone rang, he started to brew some coffee. He jumped on top of the counter, waiting impatiently for both the phone and the coffee.

A couple rings later, the caller picked up and Cole swiped the phone from the counter.

"Cole-?"

"Time machine."

"Um, what was that?"

"A _time machine._ I need a time machine!"

"Cole, now you're just talking crazy," Harumi said with a laugh. Cole shrunk down just as his coffee finished.

"It was horrible, Rumi." She heard Cole sigh. "I- we can't even make conversation with each other without it being weird."

"Well that's not good."

"It's… not." Cole hugged himself, shrinking more. "He knows I know and I know he knows. It's confusing and it's terrifying. I just want things to go back to the way they were before."

Rumi sighed. "Look, you can't change the past. And trust me, I know how you feel. I too have made terrible mistakes in the past, but you can do something about the future. If you're afraid of your friendship falling apart, then I say you confess to his face. Tell him everything."

"I can't just tell him-"

" _Don't_ lie to him, Cole. Lying only makes the problem worse."

"I-" Cole held his tongue, repeating Rumi's words in his head over and over.

"Come on, Cole. I know Jay lied to you, but think of how long you two have been together! You can't risk falling apart now."

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize, Cole." He could hear a smile in his friend's voice. "You two have always been there for each other. Don't lie to him or yourself."

"I'll, I'll try."

* * *

The next morning, Cole was waiting just outside of the trailer in his car for Jay. It had been nearly ten minutes and Cole was beginning to grow impatient.

He had talked a lot to himself last night after hanging up from talking to Rumi on the phone. He had to tell Jay today and get it out of his system, relieve himself a little. But that still didn't change the fact that Jay knew.

That got him wondering, how much longer would Jay be holding onto his sketchbook? Or did he just lose it somewhere in the trailer? Cole pinched the bridge of his nose, chuckling a bit. Cole stopped. There was a _smile_ on his face - a _smile_ when he thought about Jay and how silly he was. If that was possible, then maybe spending a whole day with his best friend without feeling distant could actually happen.

Unfortunately, all thoughts were shattered when Jay jumped into the car, keeping his head down and his eyes on his feet.

"Hey," Cole started.

Jay didn't look up. "Hi…"

The car backed up from the junkyard and was soon back on the road, forcing Cole to look away from Jay most of the time.

They drove in silence for quite a while, neither of them daring to start a conversation. Jay was staring out the window, running his fingers over his legs nervously. Meanwhile, Cole was stuck with his eyes on the road. As the silence grew heavier, Cole decided to turn up the radio just like he did yesterday on the way to drop of Jay.

"So… you… excited to see all the art?" Jay finally spoke, his eyes still staring out.

Cole's heart nearly stopped. That was… a really normal question. He could tell Jay had to think a bit just to formulate that question, but it was a start at a conversation. A normal conversation.

"Yeah. Definitely." He paused briefly and glanced over at Jay. "What about you?"

"Mm, a little. I mean, kinda," Jay sighed, dropping his head in his hand. "I mean, what do you expect from a guy like me who _hates_ everything I draw? Seeing all these professional artists is just gonna-" Jay crumpled in his seat and groaned, leaning his head against the door.

Cole frowned. "I don't know if I told you, but no one who's showcased their art is a professional. These are all college students."

Jay blinked. "Oh." He turned his head. "Really?"

Cole cracked a grin. "Yeah." In fact, he had actually thought of inviting Jay to come with him to use this art as inspiration and build his confidence in a way.

Silence fell between them once again, but Cole didn't mind it. He had talked to Jay, actually _talked_ to him again since yesterday's predicament.

Jay was thinking the same thing too.

A real conversation with Cole. It felt nice. Sure it was only 24 hours before when they had been all distant with each other, but 24 hours felt like a long time when it was his best friend. And talking felt nice.

They were a couple blocks away from the building where the art show was being held when Jay snapped out of his daze. He turned to Cole and stared, hoping that Cole would notice and look back at him. On that note, Cole _had_ noticed. But he didn't do anything about it yet. Jay had been staring at him for an uncomfortably long amount of time, and Cole began to think that Jay had just spaced out in his direction.

"Alright, we're here." Cole stated bluntly, stopping the car.

Jay waited a minute before stepping out of the car and following Cole closely behind inside. At first, Cole thought Jay was purposely lagging behind to avoid walking beside him. However, once they were inside, Jay had kept at a pace next to his friend.

Time to time, Jay would cast small glances towards his friend, wondering what Cole saw in him that could possibly make his best friend fall in love with him.

Jay wasn't great.

He wasn't at Cole's level.

He was… average.

He complained a lot.

He struggled in many things and thought of himself as weak.

Heck, the one thing that he _could_ do best was be the dominate king of video games and any other kind of game.

He had low confidence.

He didn't even have enough confidence to feel great about his art. And they were at an _art show_.

He _stole_ his best friend's sketchbook and snooped through it, even when he knew there was a strict rule that Cole held against Jay about the one and only sketchbook.

"Woah, would ya look at that? Jay, check this out!"

Jay's head snapped up and it suddenly dawned on him that Cole wasn't beside him anymore. His friend was now standing in front of a large canvas with the dotted painting of a cherry blossom tree - one of the techniques Jay admired in art. And in fact, when it came to art, he knew how much more relaxed Cole tended to get. Art was like a stress relief to him.

"Wow," he breathed, taking in the piece before him. "That's _incredible_."

"Doesn't it make you wish we had cherry blossoms near us?"

Jay nodded as a matter of factly.

Cole's stomach knotted. Jay had been awfully shy as of the time he had spent with him so far. He was only talking in short phrases and looking lost in his own world. None of that was like the best friend he knew.

His eyes breezed over a wall of paintings, looking for something that could nudge Jay into enjoying his time, even if it was just for a little while. He beamed and pointed to a painting on the right.

"Hey, check that one out!" With that, he grabbed Jay's hand without thinking and pulled his friend several displays down to a painting of a ferocious, yet friendly looking red dragon called, _Firstbourne_.

"Honestly, dragons are so awesome! Right, Jay?" He looked to his friend and spotted a smile tickling his face. Just as he was about to answer, he noticed their linked hands. Reluctantly, Jay's eyes followed Cole and he saw their hands too.

Both friends froze and couldn't tear their gazes away from their joint hands for what felt like a full minute before Jay yanked his hand away from Cole and took a couple steps to the side, awkwardly fidgeting his feet.

"Um!" The expression which flickered across Cole's face was painful and crushed his heart. They'd held hands many, many times, although, only now did it seem unusual to them. He cleared his throat suddenly. "I - I'm sorry! I, didn't mean to… pull away like that. That wasn't like me, I just… my head is-"

"It's okay! I mean, I'm not mad, hah, right?" He ran a shaky hand through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut. _Pull yourself together, Cole_. "How bout we grab some lunch at that hot dog stand outside?"

"Like, like a _date_?" Jay threw his hand over his mouth when he realized what he had just said and spun away from Cole.

Cole blinked. Why in the world-

"What? _No_! No? No, no, just lunch, Jay!"

"Sorry!"

Cole put a hand on his shoulder, beckoning him to turn around and face him. Jay's body tingled at the touch and Cole's frown twisted. "Jay, are you okay?"

He cursed at himself inwardly. Silly question. Of course he knew Jay wasn't okay. And of course he new what was bothering Jay. He knew everything. And he wanted to share everything.

"I'm fine!" Jay blurted out, spinning on his heels.

 _I'm not fine._

"Jay, can we please talk?"

Jay's head started to spin. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be in a room full of art that he found so much better than his. He didn't want to be in a room full of artwork that made him feel bad. He didn't want to be alone, with Cole.

"I need some air," he told Cole, pushing past him and marching for the front doors, eager to get outside.

Feeling a mix of emotions surge through him, Cole followed after Jay.

He found his friend leaning against the wall, his hands on his head while he silently spoke to himself.

"Jay!"

Cole, seeing how confused and worried Jay was beginning to get, took Jay by both hands. Jay immediately froze and locked eyes with Cole. And for the first time in forever, he noticed the different shades of brown of Cole's eyes. It was _hypnotizing_. How had he never noticed them before?

"I-" Cole started, wondering if he was really about to do this. He needed to. He _had_ to. To get it over with. To make things right. To clear things. And what better chance than now, when he had Jay all to himself and nothing to interrupt them. Gathering the courage he needed, he continued. "I need to tell you something."

Jay swallowed, snapping out of his trance. Those words didn't sound good. The funny thing about it was that he knew what Cole was struggling to tell him. He only wondered why now?

"We're friends, best friends," he began slowly, holding Jay's hands tighter. "I don't like this, and I know you don't either… let's not let this silly little thing change anything between us. You hear me?"

Jay stubbornly blinked. What? No way, Cole was actually going to talk about this? Jay groaned inwardly. Just because they both knew, didn't mean he was going to let Cole pry the truth out of him. The truth had wrecked him so hard, he didn't want to have to admit that to Cole. Not now. So, Jay tilted his head to the left to look innocent and perplexed. He mustered a laugh and rolled his eyes with a shrug. "What 'silly little thing'?"

Cole's eyes darkened. "Jay, you know what I mean."

"No, I obviously _don't_! I've just had a lot on my mind lately… sorry if I've been weird to you or anything, I wasn't trying to-" He huffed.

"Jay, _don't lie to me!_ "

Jay's muscles tensed at the tone of Cole's voice.

Realizing the harsh way those words had come out and the alarming look on Jay's face, Cole's grip slacked and he let out a deep breath.

"Jay, don't act like you don't know. Seriously. This isn't a joke."

Jay's eyes narrower. "I'm telling the truth, _Cole_. I thought you trusted me." He continued to lie.

Cole felt his emotions bubbling to the surface. _Don't make me actually say it, Jay. You know already._

"Quit lying to me and yourself. You're fooling no one. We need to talk about this."

"I told you, I don't know!"

 _Jay! Damnit!_

"I'm in love with you. I'm sorry."


	11. Who's Your Idol?

**This chapter is several hundred words fewer than usual buuuuuutt hm. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Jay."

His head snapped up at the sound of his name. Cole's hands were still on his but his expression had relaxed and his tone had sounded softer than before. "I know," he muttered.

"Of _course_ you know. I just don't get why you had to lie to my face."

Jay shut his eyes. "I- well what do you want me to do?" Cole leaned back when Jay's voice had gotten louder. "I did the exact thing you didn't want me to do, I went through your stupid sketchbook, I lied to you for my own interests, and I learned that my best friend is in love with me! What am I supposed to say?!"

"We could talk it out! Try to figure things out between us, right?"

Jay hands curled tighter.

"Why?! Aren't you angry with me? I keep screwing things up! I can't do anything right!"

"Jay, that's not true-"

Jay's voice was shaking now and Cole could sense the fear and doubt that clouded his thoughts. " _I'm_ the one who snooped through your sketchbook without permission, without even telling you… I'm a horrible friend."

"Jay, listen, ever since you found out, things haven't been the same. It's like I'm talking to a complete stranger or some friend I hardly know. But you're my best friend, and I don't want to lose the one person in my life who's made me feel… special."

There was a twinkle in Jay's eyes and he swiftly turned to Cole after that last sentence. "I, I don't want to lose you either…"

A smile flickered across Cole's face at those words and he squeezed Jay's hands gently. Surprisingly, Jay didn't show any signs of uneasiness at the comforting gesture and Cole's smile only widened. "Then let's figure this out, together. Okay?"

With a nod, Jay flung himself at Cole, wrapping his arms tight around his friend's figure.

Cole was hesitant to act at first, in fact, he was taken by surprise by the hug, but eventually, he returned it, wrapping his arms around Jay's smaller body.

It was at that moment in which Cole's phone buzzed loudly in his pocket. The two immediately pulled away. Cole's hand shot into the pocket of his shorts and he whipped out his phone. Jay, unbeknownst to himself, frowned at the loss of Cole's warm touch.

"What is it?" Jay asked, standing on his toes and trying to get a good glimpse of the screen.

"It's Pixal. She doesn't know how to navigate the website properly and she feels more comfortable talking to me… that's okay, I'll just answer her real fast and then we can head back inside. Sound good?"

Jay nodded, but then shook his head. "N-No, how about we grab some lunch instead?"

Cole looked up from his phone that was currently dialing Pixal's number. "Alright, I'm cool with that."

Just as Jay was about to speak, Cole held his hand up and turned around holding the phone up to his ear. Jay drew his hand back, muttering words to himself that even he couldn't understand.

He reached into his bag while Cole was still looking away and pulled out a folded up piece of paper.

It was the paper that had fallen out of Cole's sketchbook, the one that said: _I'm in love with Jay_.

What did Cole see in a person like him?

Jay glanced back at Cole.

Did he return the feelings? Jay laughed… No, right?

 _Not yet you don't_. His head told him. Jay frowned and shooed away his thoughts.

Then, he felt a buzz. It was a message from Zane.

 _We are moving onto our final paper for our art project in two days. You really should start, Jay._

Jay chewed on the inside of his cheek, scratching the back of his neck anxiously. He hadn't gotten _anywhere_ in that art project and yet he was here, with Cole, not in art class and definitely not thinking about that project… that was until Zane brought it up.

Another two buzzes and another two messages popped up from Zane.

 _:0_

 _Did I do it right?_

Jay chuckled, using his hand to cover his mouth.

 _thx Zane_

He texted back and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

He had to think. What was he going to do for his project? He knew he wanted it to be a gift for Cole, heck, he wanted it to _be_ about Cole, the one person he looked up to his whole life.

"Well, Pixal thinks she's got it now. How's about that lunch?"

"What was that?" Jay asked, looking up from Zane's texts.

Cole crossed his arms across his chest and frowned. "You're hungry, right?"

They walked side by side to a hot dog vendor across the street, occasionally stealing glances at each other at different times.

There was an open table to the right of the vendor and the two of them chose to sit there as they ate in silence. Cole couldn't help but feel like there was still this sense of awkwardness between them. Jay even ate with his head down.

"You're a little less talkative than usual. What are you thinking about?" Cole piped, hoping to get a conversation rolling.

"Stuff… Lots of stuff…" He took another bite out of his hot dog and frowned.

"You know talking about it helps," he suggested.

Jay's shoulders came up to his ears and he cocked his head to the side.

"I guess the first thing is, I'm kind of stuck on my art project. I haven't done a single thing and Zane told me we would be starting the final part of it in two days." Jay rolled a fry around in the pool of ketchup.

"That's not a good sign," Cole said, mouth full.

Jay's face twisted with disgust. "Didn't you learn never to talk with your mouth full?"

Cole swallowed, then rolled his eyes. He leaned forward on the table. "What's the second thing that's got you thinking?"

"Well… I'm just _confused_." Cole raised his eyebrows at that statement. "How long have you been crushing on me? Was I really that oblivious or were you just super good at hiding it? like you always are… This is so _weird_! Why am I talking about this?" Jay dragged a hand down his face and groaned loudly. "Why couldn't I just be a better friend and leave your stuff _alone_? Boundaries. Personal space! It's a thing!"

Cole crumpled his napkin into a ball and tossed it onto his empty tray. There Jay went again, rambling on and on and making a big deal out of things.

"Jay, relax. I'm not mad-"

"You're not?"

"No, why would I be?"

Jay racked his brain for answers as to why Cole wouldn't be upset but all the reasons _pointed_ to him actually being angry with him. "But I went through your sketchbook… it's basically like your diary for crying out loud!"

Cole shrugged. "Well, yeah, you did that, but I'm more hurt than upset."

"So I did do something wrong…"

"Jay, just listen, I'm hurt because you lied to me and found something out that I've been keeping locked in here," he placed a hand over his chest, "for ages because I was afraid it would change how we are as friends… but I guess it had to come out eventually. As to how you were so clueless…" Cole sighed and shook his head. "I think that's just you being you, Jay."

Jay snorted at the accuracy of the sentence.

He didn't ever intend on hurting his friend - even though he knew what he was getting himself into when he first touched that sketchbook.

But seeing Cole now, he wasn't upset and he was still trying hard to make sure that things didn't fall apart.

He didn't deserve a friend like Cole, but he got one anyways.

Cole heard a chuckle and he blinked in Jay's direction as the chuckle turned into uncontrollable laughter. "Hey, look at you! You're actually laughing! Where have you been this whole time?"

"And look at us! We're making conversation!" Jay's smile shone brightly. "I, I missed this. It wasn't even two whole days, but I missed this."

"Me too," Cole said.

"C'mon, let's head back inside!" He said, more confidently than before, and stood up to put the trays away. Afterwards, he ran up to Cole and pulled him to his feet.

"So, who else knows?" He asked his friend as they made their way to the front entrance.

Cole pondered for a second, thinking whether or not it would be a good idea to tell Jay that he was pretty much the only one who didn't know.

"Well, Rumi, Kai, Nya, oh, don't forget Skylor… I think little Lloyd 'Bratty' Garmadon picked up on it…"

Jay blinked stubbornly. "Wha-huh?"

"I dunno, he kinda gave me this creepy looking smirk, like he knew something. Ah, that kid's a troublemaker…" He stopped right in front of the door causing Jay to stop as well.

"What's wrong?"

"When we get inside… try not to compare yourselves to those people, okay? You're… _you_ … and you're special and unique…" _You make me happy_ , "I didn't bring you here to make you feel worse about yourself. Look up for inspiration, but don't look up to make yourself feel bad."

Jay took Cole's words to heart. He nodded and put a hand on the door before looking to Cole. "Okay, I'll do that."

Once back inside, Jay and Cole were all over the art floor, moving from here to there and there to here as they admired every piece of art there was. For a while, Jay didn't even _think_ to compare himself to those other people. He listened to Cole and drew in ideas from other pieces. However, as they continued to move from piece to piece, Jay started to pay more attention to something else.

He wasn't looking at the art anymore.

He was looking at Cole.

Cole, his friend.

Cole, his best friend.

His best friend who was in love with him.

"Who's the biggest inspiration you look up to?" Cole had one time asked him.

"Hmm… I'll tell if you tell."

"Haha, alright, well… I look up to you."

Jay was flustered at those words and he hid his face in his pillow. A part of him was screaming inside of happiness but another part of him was shocked as to why. "Really? Why on Earth would you look up to someone like me?"

Cole frowned. "Pft, well for starters, you know how to cook."

Jay rolled his eyes. "C'mon really?"

"Jay, you're awesome and you know it. So, tell me, who do you look up to?"

Jay rolled over on his bed, going through his list of names and people he knew. If he were to be honest, he looked up to Cole. _A lot_. But he didn't have the guts to tell him that, even when Cole had said he looked up to him.

"Cliff Gordon," Jay blurted out. Obviously a lie.

" _Cliff Gordon_? That guy?" Cole threw his pillow at Jay. "Who writes Samurai in space?!"

"Agh, hey, hey, hey, obviously he does! Plus, he does his own stunts! You sentimental idiot!"

"Sentimental idiot? Jay, what the heck?" He jumped onto the bed, laughing as Jay started to beat him up with a pillow.

"Jay, you're falling behind," Cole suddenly called out to him from the far end of the room. Startled, Jay smacked the side of his head to shake him out of his daydream and looked to Cole.

"Aheh," Jay ran up to his friend, "My mind went elsewhere."

"Remember that time I slept over at your house? And you asked me who I looked up to?"

Cole squinted, trying to recall the memory. "Yeah, I think so. Why do you ask?"

"I never looked up to Cliff Gordon. I mean, I liked the guy, he's _awesome_ , but that was a lie… I look up to you… yanno," Jay said, stepping closer to Cole with a sheepish smile on his face.

"I always have."


	12. Here Comes a Thought

Jay had one more day before they were moving onto their final paper for their project. Unfortunately for him, he was still conjuring up ideas of what to draw. On the bright side, he had made progress since yesterday after Cole dropped him off back home.

Speaking of, yesterday had marked exactly four years they had been together. Jay's stomach sunk when he found out too last moment, as he had wanted to do something special for the two of them. Sadly for them, they had other things going on that day, such as trying to fix the awkward tension between them.

Even though it _seemed_ like things had gone back to the way they were, Jay still found himself tripping over his own feet. Not to mention that he was still holding onto Cole's sketchbook. He wasn't actually sure why he hadn't given it back yet. Maybe a part of him just wanted to hold onto it for a little longer.

Currently, he was sitting in his art class at the back of the classroom with Zane on his left as they began to polish up their first draft of the project. They had all split into groups of two and taken different sections of the room.

Zane was already almost finished with his first draft while Jay, on the other hand, had gotten nowhere. He was still trying to pick out the idea that qualified best to him, but no matter which one he chose, there was always some difficult task within that idea of the project that Jay just did not want to deal with.

"Are you going to the bookstore again, Jay?"

Jay swiftly turned to his art buddy. "Course I am, Zane! It's technically my only way home. Why you ask?"

"Pixal invited me to have dinner with her and Skylor."

Jay rested his chin in the palm of his hand and leaned closer to Zane. "Ooh! Who else is coming?"

"I think I remember Skylor had invited Nya and Kai as well." Zane colored in a bubble on his page and sighed. "Can I tell you something?"

Jay was taken aback by the tone of Zane's voice. He sounded like something had been worrying him and that he needed to get it out, as if it were some secret. He nodded frantically. "Of course! You can tell me anything. We _are_ friends, yanno?"

"Very well." Zane dropped his pencil and turned on the stool to face Jay. "I have never gone out with this many people before. It is new to me, and, and scary. What if I mess something up?"

Jay understood what Zane was saying perfectly well. Since he first met Zane, he had learned that his friend had been homeschooled and didn't have many people to call his friends. Jay made the promise to always stay by Zane's side and help him make new friends and open up his world. Sure, Zane could be a little shy, but he was kind and gracious and always put others before him, but definitely not a doormat.

"Mess something up?" Jay kicked a foot up in the air and dropped it over his other. "Zane, you're not going to 'mess something up', because you know why? You're _you_ and you just do whatever makes you feel comfortable! Who cares what other people think?"

"You really think so?" Zane asked.

"Why wouldn't I? Besides, if you feel like you can be yourself around Pixal, knowing she's there will probably be like a comfort thing, amiright?"

Zane agreed silently. "You're right…"

"Oh, man, I'm starting to sound like Cole…" Jay sensed a quavering in his voice and he wondered why. "Hah, except he'd probably say a _lot_ more than what I had to offer. Funny, he always says that to me…" Jay gasped suddenly and bounced to his feet, holding his sketchbook to his chest with stars in his eyes.

"I just had an idea!"

Zane jolted into an upright position and glared at Jay. "You have an idea for what your project will be?"

"Yes! Zane! Yes! You won't believe what just came to me! It's probably one of the best ideas I've had ever! Cole's going to love it!" Jay gnawed his lip at another sudden thought.

"Shoot… I just hope I can do this for the art project."

* * *

Cole sauntered into the bookstore with a bag of five cookies, one for each of his friends and one for himself. He had a bit of spare time before his shift started, so he made a quick stop by the bakery to pick up some snacks to treat his friends with.

"Good morning, Cole!" Pixal greeted as her co-worker pushed past the doors.

At the sound of his name, Cole flashed her a friendly smile, leaning against the customer service counter. "Hey, Pix. Did you have any other troubles yesterday? Anyone gave you a hard time?"

"Everyone was really nice to me. You did not tell me that the neighborhood here was this friendly, Cole." Her eyes fell on the cookie bag. "What's that?"

"Have a cookie! Courtesy of yours truly," he said with a smile and offered out the bag to her.

He stiffened when he heard his name being yelled from across the store.

"Cole! There you are!" Rumi ran towards him, arms out wide and coming in for a hug. "How was the art show? Gotta say, you _totally_ missed yesterday; Kai was losing it! Skylor made a joke about how his sister was ten times better than he was and he lost it!"

Cole took a deep breath as he squirmed under Harumi's bear hug crush. "That's Kai for ya…" He fell back against the counter once Rumi let go. "As for the art show, pretty impressive, hah," Cole scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh, did you talk things out with Jay?"

"Kind of…" Harumi frowned at the sound of his voice, "I mean, yeah, we did, but I can't help but feel like Jay's still being a little distant… but, but that's okay! We're still working things out and, and the good thing is, we didn't lose each other."

"That's relieving to hear," She caught movement from the corner of her eyes and jabbed a finger at Kai. With one hand on her hip, she marched over to her employee rather violently and began to bombard him with questions. "Kai, where is Skylor? And _what_ are you doing?"

Cole let out a breath of relief and doubled over on the counter.

"Was Jay the short man who came in two days ago?" He heard Pixal ask. For a minute, Cole had forgotten that Pixal didn't know about _any_ of the kinds of things he was talking about with Harumi.

Cole raised his head and folded his arms on the counter. "Yeah, he's my best friend actually."

"So, you are having a problem with your best friend?"

"That's basically it," Cole sighed. "He found out that I was - I mean, _am_ in love with him. And things haven't been the same. I mean, we figured some things out yesterday… it's better… but he's still… different somehow."

The intern leaned closer to Cole when her friend lowered his head onto the counter. "Maybe he is developing feelings for you too?"

In an instant, Cole's head shot up from sulking on the counter and he stared at the intern with large eyes. "Pixal? … No, I, I don't think that's the case. Trust me."

"But what if it is the case?"

Cole ground his teeth together, eyes searching the table as if the answers were simply there for him. "I…" Cole couldn't think. Although that would be nice…

"Maybe they were always there," Pixal simply stated, turning her attention to the computer screen.

Cole felt a spark of hope inside of him. "Well, Jay is staying the night at my place… after dinner at Chen's, we were going to try something. Or, _I_ was thinking of trying something. To feel like things are normal again."

Pixal crouched down and heaved a stack of new books onto the counter. "Nothing is going to be the same again, Cole. But you can try and make it better…" Sadly, she was right, and Cole knew it. "I could use an extra pair of hands to help me restock these books."

Cole smiled fondly and took a second stack from Pixal's hands. "You're really getting the hang of this, aren't you?"

"All thanks to you."

* * *

Jay stepped out of the car and stared at Cole's door with a loud thumping sound in his head. He'd been to Cole's house thousands of times before, why was he now feeling like this was going to be the first time? And why did it feel so nerve-racking?

The sound of a lock unlocking snapped him out of his daze and he saw Cole already walking inside, keeping the door open for Jay. So, the brunette followed, a smile gracing his features when he felt the transition from a warm to cool environment. He slowly shut the door behind him as he took in his surroundings. Nothing had really changed much since he was last here. His eyes found the many games and game consoles that Cole had stashed under his TV and he grinned a bit, remembering how badly he wanted Cole to keep them all here.

"Keep up, Jay!" Cole chuckled as he disappeared into one of the rooms of his stuffy house. Jay felt a warm feeling tickling his cheeks and he ducked his head between his shoulders before following Cole into the room. Inside, Cole was already seated on the floor, patting a spot across from him, urging Jay to sit down.

Jay took a calming, deep breath and sat down across from Cole.

"So, now what?"

"Now, we talk." Cole stated briefly while crossing his legs.

"What do we talk about?"

"Anything you want," Cole smiled, "What do you want to talk about?"

Jay looked up to the ceiling, taking the time to think. If he were being honest with himself, he had a million thoughts going through his head right now, but he couldn't get them all out at once. The question lingered in his head as he thought. What would be the perfect thing to discuss with Cole at a time like this?

"Thanks for taking me to the art show." Cole raised his head.

"I knew you would love it," he responded with a smirk. "Did it help?"

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't," Jay said, playing with the carpet beneath him.

"Mission accomplished, then," Cole said with a playful wink.

Jay couldn't help but smile wider. He thought about another thing and considered whether it was best to ask Cole at this time. He had wanted to try this for a while now, and the art show yesterday had solidified that idea in his head as number one. He just hoped that Cole would say yes to it.

"I think… I want to try something."

Cole cocked his head to the right, curious to see as to what Jay wanted to try.

"I want you to teach me how to get better. I want to learn to draw things I couldn't before. I want to improve."

"You do?" Cole was on his knees now, staring wide eyes at his friend.

Jay nodded and dove inside his bag, pulling out his new sketchbook. "Remember? I look up to you. I want you to be my… hmm, my first, but not an official class, art teacher!"

Cole looked away and rolled his eyes, fighting the blush that was crawling up his neck. "Oh, please. You flatter me, Jay Walker."

Jay found that sentence humorous but yet, it had also managed to make his heart beat faster. "Hey, you told me you looked up to me too, remember?" He tossed back slyly. "Or was that only because you have a crush on me?"

"Nice try, but no. How about we move to my art room for the time being?"

Jay beamed, delighted. "Uh, sure!"

After leading Jay into the room across the hall, Jay seated himself at one of the drawing tables - the only drawing table - and pulled out his sketchbook and pencil pouch, readying himself to start drawing. It was a pretty cramped room, if you count how messy it was inside. It was practically like a walking trash can, but more colorful and organized in its own way. As he fumbled to take out his pencil and eraser, Jay wondered where Cole would be hanging around while he sketched.

"Sorry bout the mess," came Cole's voice from… right behind him? Like, exactly right behind him.

Jay's mouth gaped open and he craned his head to the side to see where his friend actually was.

And indeed, Cole was standing directly behind him. He tried to lean back a tad bit but found that he was practically already up against Cole's lower half. Now he had an even better idea of how close Cole was to him.

He had never before even _once_ , leaned against Cole this way as if he were embracing him from behind. It felt… nice.

"Just remember, only you can help yourself to get better." Suddenly, Cole's arm reached over Jay's shoulder and grabbed the pencil, offering it up to Jay. "The rest is just support and guidance."

He felt both of Cole's hands firmly place themselves on his shoulders and he relaxed under the touch. "Wanna go for that hummingbird you asked about several days ago?" Cole asked him, looking down on Jay.

"Yeah," he stuttered, and sat up straighter.

Cole placed his phone in front of Jay with a picture of a hummingbird on display. "For reference."

"A-Alright… Thanks, you know, for helping me do this."

"Ya don't have to thank me… Sparky." Cole said softly, now regretting whatever made him think that calling him 'Sparky' now was a good idea.

To his surprise, Jay shot him a smile.

The minutes ticked by and Jay was sketching away like it was the only thing that mattered in the world right now. He let all of his attention focus on this piece only and nothing else. As time let on, however, his thoughts often drifted to Cole and his art project. While he drew, Cole would sometimes reach over and point out some other ways he could improve or make shapes pop out. Most times, Cole would only watch and show the slightest signs of movement that would sometimes startle Jay, to show that he was still awake and here to support.

At one point, Jay was sure Cole had fallen asleep since his friend didn't think to answer him the first time he asked. When Jay asked a second time, more worried than the first time he had asked, Cole only responded with a ruffle of his hair and a laugh.

Jay had dropped his pencil and flailed his arms, trying to whack Cole in the face if he was lucky enough.

"Hey, that's looking good, Bluebell," Cole spoke up after a while.

Jay felt his cheeks warm. "New nickname?" He squeaked.

"You bet…" Cole rubbed an eye and blinked.

The corner of Jay's lips pulled up when he heard Cole let out a yawn and he lowered his pencil whilst also switching off the phone.

An idea sparked in his head and he stole a glance at his friend, questioning what he was about to do next. "Hey, Cole?"

"Wassup?"

"You know you can… I dunno, hug me or whatever… you know?" Jay felt himself getting flustered at his own words. Did he really have to phrase it that way?

"What do you mean?"

Jay groaned inwardly, wanting out right now. Curse his curious thoughts and blabbering mouth for always getting him into trouble. Slowly, he grabbed Cole's hands and lifted them off his shoulders before wrapping them around his small form. "Like that? Maybe?"

"Oh. Okay." Jay heard a smile in Cole's voice and a wild beating of his heart.

"Do you… like it?" Cole asked him after letting a couple minutes pass by.

Suddenly, Jay was glad that he had his back to his friend, because he sure as hell didn't want his best friend - the one who was in love with him - to see the deep shade of red of his cheeks.

"Yeah, I like it."


	13. Three Words

**_So. Go watch 'Teen Titans Go! To The Movies'. I had SUCH a great time._**

* * *

Jay woke up, his head fuzzy. He blinked a couple of times, trying to remember where he was, because it sure as heck didn't look like his house.

The blinds over the windows were all shut and Jay could hardly see a thing. Papers were scattered all over the floor. A box of markers and pencils were jumbled all over in one corner and a light at a single desk was shining brightly, the only thing illuminating the room.

His hand raised to his forehead and he felt around the ground for support. He suddenly felt something loose and all over… something like _hair._ Jay held back a gasp.

What in the… world?

He stiffened.

That's right. He was at Cole's house.

But what had happened?

The last thing he remembered was lining the hummingbird with a thicker pencil and then, huh, he must have passed out from exhaustion.

He slowly crept towards the desk and got on his knees, bending the light so that it shone over the floor. A flicker of his drawing caught his attention, however, and he pulled it closer to him, admiring it.

He never thought he could draw _that_.

 _Did_ he even draw that?

It was amazing!

A smile tickled his cheeks and he awed, holding the drawing up for him to see clearer. He was actually _proud_. He felt… _accomplished_.

He drew that!

He _drew_ that!

He couldn't believe he actually drew that!

Maybe he had been too hard on himself. If this was what Cole and everyone else saw in him, then why wasn't he able to have seen it earlier?

Turning around, he spotted Cole lying still on the carpet. He was on his back with his hair all over his face and one hand over his chest while the other was stretched out, grasping onto a random blanket that had been lying around. Hesitantly, Jay searched for Cole's phone and checked the time.

A grunt left him when he saw that it was still early in the morning. Even his parents wouldn't be up at this hour.

Jay knocked on the side of his head, trying to think of what to do for the next few hours since he knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again.

A light bulb went off in his head.

"Maybe I can collect some things for the project while I'm here!" He jumped to his feet and started for the door, a smile on his face.

Thankfully, because of his great memory, he found Cole's room in no time and stepped inside, flicking the switch on. The first thing Jay noticed was Cole's bag, sitting untouched on the bed, just waiting to be opened. He sped right up to it, eager to look inside. Just as his hand was about to open the flap, he pulled back in an instant and turned away, shaking his head.

" _No_ , Jay. You've done enough snooping. Stop snooping!" With a heavy sigh, he walked away from the bag and stumbled upon Cole's desk. Scattered upon it were some papers and sticky notes. Jay grinned. He only really needed a couple of things that Cole was particularly fond of. A notebook was opened to a page with reminders of his work schedule. Jay's mouth twisted and he bent down to get a better look at the schedule for the month.

Cole was going to start working a lot longer than he thought, and that was once his art class was over. He didn't realize that the art class was the only thing keeping Cole from working so long, and so late. Jay frowned.

"Gosh, poor guy's gonna get himself worked up… Maybe I can treat him to something for the weekend…"

Suddenly, something fell off a high shelf and Jay screeched, running into the nearest bathroom.

"Okay, _breath_ , Jay! It's okay! It's _okay_!" Jay turned on the faucet and dipped his hands under the cold running water just before splashing it onto his face. If there was one thing he hated most about being the first one up and the last one up at night, it was the scary noises in the dark. Jay shivered.

He dragged a hand across his face and fisted it on the table, looking himself in the eye at his reflection. "Look, me, I just gotta find some stuff for the art project, something that'll help with the collage. That's all." Jay looked away from his reflection, feeling a little more confident. "Okay, let's do this!"

He ran his hand across the sink counter and reached for the door, just until _something_ decided to go off-

An alarm.

But Jay didn't know that because of it's creepy, yet, calming music. He wasn't sure if the instrumental was supposed to be soothing, but whatever the case, it sure wasn't to him and he wanted out.

Jay ran back into the art room, gripping his phone tightly in one hand, completely unaware of the stray box lying in his path. With a yelp, Jay tripped and flew through the air, heading straight for Cole. The phone slipped out of his hands and he shut his eyes, praying for his life that he wouldn't wake Cole by falling on him.

"Ah! -" Jay shut his mouth when he fell into his friend's arms. "Uh, uh, C-Cole?!" He shyly looked up at his friend who had caught him at the perfect time.

"You're awake?!" He stammered.

Cole bent his knees and chuckled softly. "Um, yeah… I guess. Caught you just in time, huh?"

"Y-Yeah…" Jay swallowed. "Thanks."

"What were you doing walking around anyways?"

"Oh! Hah, nothing…really…" Jay's lips thinned as Cole pulled him back on his feet. His fingers curled tighter around Cole's forearms, overwhelmed with anxiety. "Just checking out the house, yanno. Even though I've been here many, many times before. _Ghosts_." He added the last part quietly.

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing! It was -" The alarm went off once more and Jay wanted to curse at wherever that alarm was and tell it to shut up. However, instead what had happened, was Jay screaming and pulling Cole closer to him for comfort.

"Jay, relax, it's just the alarm from the kitchen."

"Why. Do you have an alarm. _In the kitchen_?!"

"My Dad, put it there…" Cole looked down at Jay's shaking figure and smiled. "You okay?"

Still a little terrified from before, Jay pressed his head against Cole's chest, staring wide eyed at the wall and nodding.

Cole laughed. "Alright, well who's up for some pancakes?"

Jay blinked and pulled away. "You can make pancakes? Since when?"

"I've been practicing," Cole assured him, strutting past Jay and to the door. "Lemme change real quick; I'll meet you in the kitchen, yeah?"

It took Jay a moment, but once he finally grasped Cole's words, he nodded and shuffled onwards to the kitchen.

"Pull yourself together, Jay." He whispered to himself as he marched down the hall. His hand trailed over the wall and he took a deep breath, allowing himself to relax. "First, you were blushing yesterday. Then, you _made_ Cole hug you?! Gah! And don't think I didn't think I was blushing then too! I know my own body! Quit acting weird!" Jay squeezed his eyes shut and stood at the front of the kitchen, flailing his arms in the air. "Ah, but I got what I needed for my collage, didn't I?"

Jay high fived himself proudly and sauntered into the kitchen, falling into an empty seat.

Just as he was feeling a little less stressed, the alarm went off _again_ and Jay jolted out of his seat, screaming at the top of his lungs.

" _Jay, I can hear you as clear as day from in the bathroom."_

"It's the _alarm's_ fault! Thank you very much!" He wobbled over to the counter, "Where's the stinking alarm?!"

No response.

"Cole? Cole, am I not shouting loud enough this time?"

He winced when he heard a door slam shut. " _Cole!_ "

"Uh-huh, right here, Sparky."

Jay jumped at the sound of his friend's voice and he spun around, staring at Cole.

His friend had came in dressed in a fitted navy blue, sleeveless top and some grey sweatpants. Everything normal and casual… The unusual part about it, however, was that he had tied his hair back using a hair tie. Jay shrunk to the ground and cleared his throat abruptly.

"Whatcha, whatcha doing with your hair now?"

"Thought I'd tie it back seeing as to how long it's getting." Jay nodded. "I only do this in the mornings, don't worry."

"Pft, me? Worry? About what?"

Cole moved past Jay and pulled out a pan and some ingredients for the pancake batter.

"Uh, I don't really know. You sound a little, hmm, dissatisfied with it."

Jay leaned against his arm on the counter and rolled his eyes. "No way! I think it looks good!"

Cole grinned. "We only have a couple hours before we have to leave. It _is_ Friday, after all."

"Darn…" Jay fiddled with his fingers, watching tentatively as Cole measured his cup of flour. "You need any help with that?"

"I could use an extra pair of hands," Cole added and stepped to the side, allowing Jay to join him at the back counter.

* * *

During breakfast, Jay sat silently, thoughts mindlessly drifting off about his art project. A collage didn't sound like a bad idea at first, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered whether he had enough pictures to make the collage work.

Often, he'd take a glance at Cole, seeing him stuffing small pieces of pancakes into his mouth while his eyes were trained on his phone screen.

His drawing of the unfinished hummingbird sat on the table next to his two glasses, one of orange juice and the other with water.

"You really like that hummingbird, don't you?" Cole asked after swallowing.

Jay grinned sheepishly. "It's the best thing I've done that I'm proud of!"

Cole chuckled and resumed to doing whatever it was he was doing on his phone.

Jay continued thinking, and he remembered Cole's soon to be hectic schedule. Jay gnawed on his lip.

Cole's phone beeped and his head suddenly turned to his friend.

 _Hey, bro, wanna see a movie this weekend?_

Kai had texted him. Cole stuffed more pancakes in his mouth and dropped his fork, holding his phone with both hands.

 _What movie?_

"Hey, Cole?" Jay asked.

Cole looked up from his screen. "Wassat Jay?"

"Are you doing anything this weekend?"

Cole quirked a brow, looking from Kai's text to Jay. "Umm…" On one hand, he didn't mind a movie to take his mind off what a week it'd been, but on the other, he was intrigued to see where Jay was going with this. "Not at the moment. Why?"

"I was, um, thinking," Jay chewed on the inside of his cheek, playing with his fork. "Maybe you want to go to the movies?" Cole's eyes immediately widened and he nearly choked on his pancakes, alarming Jay. "Oh my gosh! Uh, are you okay?"

"Jay, I'm -" - cough - "-fine! Really!"

But Jay wasn't listening. Instead, he scrambled for his glass and stood up, running around the table to Cole. "Water?-" Jay let out another peep when his foot slipped on some of the water that had splashed out of his glass and onto the floor.

"Jay!" Cole held up his hands over his face as the glass shot up in the air, pouring a waterfall over the two of them. At the same time, Jay's elbow had his the table _hard_ and caused both their plates to jump up in the air, sending their unfinished pancakes splat on the table. As a result of the shaking table, Jay's orange juice had fallen over, drenching his hummingbird in orange.

Jay gaped, feeling heartbroken, and quickly caught the glass in his hands just before it hit the ground. Flustered, he hugged it close to his chest and stood, frozen in place. _He couldn't move_. It was like his legs were glued to the spot while he soaked in humiliation.

Finally, after what felt like hours, when he felt like he could move again, Jay sunk to the ground, still hugging the glass.

"Great, now I have to change again," He heard Cole mutter from above. Jay dared not to look up. "Dude, you okay?"

The chair shifted and Cole got down on his knees, wrapping his fingers around the glass that Jay was holding onto ever so tightly. "Careful, this thing can cut you if you're not cautious enough." Gently, he pulled the glass away from Jay and set it on the table, brushing away a damp clump of hair that had fallen over his eyes.

"Ah, I'm so clumsy today."

Cole half smiled and handed him a cloth. "Aren't you always?"

Jay ignored him and wiped his hands and face on the cloth. "I can't walk, can't talk… can't even look at you without feeling… like I can't _do_ anything."

Cole wasn't sure how else to respond. "How about we clean all this up and then I'll take you home to change?" Cole's eyes fell on the wet drawing of a hummingbird and his eyes filled with sorrow. "… Oh, no… Oh, Jay, you're hummingbird…"

Jay kept his eyes on the ground, looking lost and somewhere far from reality. "It's fine. It's alright. Yeah." He said, his voice shaking.

"Fine?" Cole sat back, waving his hands at Jay's drenched figure. "Dude, you're clearly soaked right now. We need to get you into a pair of new clothes."

"Well, so are you," Jay murmured, balling the cloth in his hands and staring at the floor.

" _Yeah_ , but this is _my_ home where _my_ clothes are…" He frowned, noticing the blank look on his best friend's face. "... is something bothering you?"

Jay remained quiet, looking to the wall and just… _thinking._ That was until two firm hands grabbed both of Jay's arms and lifted him to his feet.

"Hey, let's just put you into some dry clothes - I'm sure I've got something about your size if you don't want to go home - then we'll clean up this mess and head to class?" Jay stayed quiet. "Unless you don't want to… you want to just hang out here for a while?"

But Jay had already tuned Cole out of his head minutes ago, listening only to his own thoughts.

 _Embarrassed. Clumsy. Awkward._

Those three words were being repeated in his head and he wanted it to stop.

 _Embarrassed._

He had spilled water all over Cole _and_ himself, not to mention trashed their breakfast.

 _Clumsy_.

He tripped. Twice. And ran around Cole's house like a scared cat because of a stupid alarm. His hummingbird was _ruined_.

 _Awkward_.

He couldn't think right, he couldn't speak right.

He _hated_ every part of his body for making him act this way.

In a sudden outburst, Jay pulled Cole against him, as close as their bodies would allow and he pressed his lips onto Cole's, shutting his eyes.

He _hated_ the way he was feeling.

Jay's other hand snaked upwards, feeling for Cole's hair tie. He gave it a tug and pulled it out, letting Cole's hair fall down and over his eyes.

He _hated_ Cole's hair being all tied up right now.

Cole's hands left Jay's shoulders in response and he nearly stumbled backwards in shock. Seconds later, and Cole's hands were on either side of Jay's head, holding him closer. Jay fisted his hand tighter around Cole's tank.

He _hated_ being here.

When Jay pulled away at last, he couldn't tear away from Cole's eyes.

None of them said a single word since.

In a split second, Jay's entire face flushed but he did the opposite of trying to hide it and instead struggled to comb the damp hair out of his eyes.

He raised a hand, a hand that had been dialing a number on his phone while they were trapped, staring at each other.

"Hey, Zane… would you tell the teach that I'm going to be a little late today?"


	14. I Love You

**You know when Season 7 of Voltron drops and you're just distracted the whole day?**

* * *

 **Two and a Half Years Ago**

"Have you ever liked someone, Jay?" Cole asked, kicking his feet up and feeling the couch for the remote.

Jay, who had been taking a swig out of his soda, nearly choked and glared at Cole, twirling the can in his hand. "That's a silly question! Of course…" Jay thought for a moment, an image flashing in his head, "... _not_. Of course not. Why, do you?"

"Mm," Cole squinted, staring at the television screen just before diving into the popcorn bowl between them and looking straight at Jay. "Nope. Hah, you kinda sound like you do," he teased. Jay pursed his lips, looking away from Cole.

"Well, I do _not_. So you're completely wrong. Besides, who would you think I had a crush on anyways?"

Cole popped a popcorn into his mouth, grinning slyly while doing that thing where people looked up for an answer. A chuckle escaped Jay and he covered his mouth, leaning over to the side.

"Actually, I dunno…" Cole frowned and turned back to him. "Here's a question though, would you… date me?"

Jay's eyes bulged out of their sockets and he turned away, eyes flickering from the floor to the walls constantly.

"I- I mean…" Jay bit his lip, desperately trying to come up with an answer. "I mean anyone would be stupid _not_ to…" He laughed, sparing a quick glance over his shoulder. Cole, an arm over the top of the couch, looked confused and worried.

Jay cleared his throat, trying to calm himself. He slid down in his seat, thinning his lips as he struggled to speak. "I mean, sure, why not? … How bout me? Would you date _me_?"

Cole switched channels, dropping his head back against the cushions. He flashed a smile at Jay before taking his feet off the table and shifting to face him completely. "Ah, yeah, sure."

"You would?" Jay asked, a small smile creeping up his face. He raised his hand, touching his cheek gently like he were living a fantasy.

Suddenly, Cole flicked a popcorn in his direction. Jay flinched and shot Cole one of his death stares, pouting. "If we were the last people alive, then yes."

"Cole! That's not nice," he complained, crossing his arms across his chest and sitting like an upset toddler on the couch.

His friend sighed and cooed, moving the popcorn bowl to the coffee table so he could scoot closer. He opened his arms wide for an embrace and wrapped Jay in a tight hug. "Awe, is someone upset? Do they need a hug?"

Of course, Jay couldn't fight the smile that had appeared on his face and he laughed, trying to duck away as Cole tried to ruffle his hair.

"Fine, but only because your hugs are worth it."

* * *

Jay remembered that day like it had been yesterday, since now he had actually _kissed_ Cole, proving he did like someone after all. It was funny, because all this time, he never could figure out why he got so worked up over a silly truth or dare question during movie night at Cole's place.

Now, Jay was dressed in an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, sitting on Cole's couch with his legs up and a plastic water bottle between his thighs.

Neither of them had said a word to each other since the kiss and Jay was beginning to curse himself with every word he knew, wishing he could take back that kiss.

Cole, on the other hand, was still in the kitchen, and Jay could see him, standing there with his head in his hands, contemplating.

He raised his shaking hand, pointing the remote at the TV and jabbed his thumb on a button, switching channels.

Jay didn't like any of this.

He wished he hadn't agreed to stay the night at Cole's. Of _course_ something like this was bound to happen. What was he thinking?

And now what? Jay was already half an hour late, did he really want to come into class then?

Saddened, Jay popped the lid off the bottle and raised it to his lips - until he realized it was empty. Had he been downing all this water for the past thirty minutes, sulking? Jay shook his head, a frown on his face. With a heavy sigh, he swept his legs off the couch and started for the kitchen.

He past Cole, who was now contemplating on the edge of the dining table, his feet dangling off the end.

Jay tossed the bottle into the recycle and opened the fridge, spying another plastic bottle sitting at the back. He reached for it, shut it, and stood, eyes on the countertop. Jay tried to ignore it, but the beating of his heart only sped up and grew louder, blocking any other sound that surrounded him.

"Cole," he said softly, thankfully getting his friend's attention.

"Jay?"

"We… _can't_ keep going like this. We have to talk about it." The beating grew louder.

Cole sat up and crossed his arms, staring at Jay's back. " _We_ have to talk about it? Or only _you_? Because the way I remember it, _you_ came onto _me_ not too long ago."

Jay played with the water bottle, refusing to admit Cole was right. He was the one who kissed him - out of thin air. Finally, Jay spun around his lips turned down. "Fine, _me_. _I_ kissed you. Thirty minutes ago, I _kissed_ you."

"And what about it?"

"Well… I…" Jay stayed down at his feet, thinking. What _did_ he think about it?

One thing's for sure, he liked it. He _loved_ it. He _hated_ it. Sure it was _sudden_ , but once it was all over, it was then he felt like it was something that he had been yearning to do for _months_ , maybe even _years_.

The way Cole was being so gentle and patient with him, it all the more furthered the reason as to why Jay wanted to do _it_.

Jay blanked.

"Ever since I read that you were in love with me, it's like these feelings that I didn't even know were there just started to _happen_!" Jay dug his hands in his hair, biting down on his lip furiously. "It's like, I look at you, and it's all I ever wanted. Just _you_." He threw his hands in the air, screaming.

Unbeknownst to him, Cole had hopped off the table and was standing beside Jay. He grabbed Jay's frantic arms and gently lowered them to Jay's sides, a small smile on his face. "It's called _being in love_ , Jay."

"I- I know what it's called!" He pouted, cheeks flushing red. "But- but then I come here and me, I was acting like a goof! And you… just… you're so _relaxed_ , and you only want the best for me, for anyone, and all I can do is make a mess."

Jay dragged a hand down his cheek, groaning. "I think I've _always_ liked you, and I mean, always been in love with you." Jay laughed, sounding like he didn't believe the words that were spilling out of his mouth. "I mean, everything I do, I want to do it for _you_. This art project, my art. I guess I wasn't sure before, but now I am."

Cole's hands traveled up Jay's arms and he adjusted the large t-shirt, softly chuckling.

"I'm in love with you." Jay stated in a mere whisper… looking confused and uncertain. He tilted his head a little to the right.

"I'm _in love with you_ -" He said again, this time a little more confidently.

Jay took a deep breath and placed both hands on either side of Cole's head just before standing on his toes and pressing his lips against Cole's for a second time. It was short and soft, but it was enough to get the message across. And it surely wasn't a surprise this time. Cole knew it was coming the second Jay looked back up at him. The shine in his eyes spoke more than Jay's own words ever could in that moment.

Jay pulled away, keeping his hands where they were. He stared, face turning red as Cole cupped a hand over one of his. He smiled, taking Jay's hand in his.

"You figured things out, Sparky."

"- And I want to be with you."

* * *

Cole pulled open the door, allowing Jay to lead him inside the bookstore.

"Cole! You're here!" Came Harumi's voice. Cole turned his head and saw her jogging up to the two of them with Kai and Pixal not too far behind. She stopped suddenly when her eyes fell upon Jay and Cole's intertwined hands. A part of her couldn't believe it, but another said otherwise and she tackled Cole into a hug, smiling with joy.

"Is _this_ what kept you busy this morning, Cole?" Kai asked, grinning slyly at him.

"Very funny." He looked to Rumi. "Am I…"

"You get the day off," she interrupted, a smile across her cheeks. "You weren't working today anyways. But, you can hang out here for a while if you want."

"Might as well," Cole said to her, pulling Jay closer. "Besides, this guy's got an art project to finish up."

He turned to Jay, very carefully brushing away the hair that hid his eyes. He hadn't heard Cole's words earlier, but when he finally took them in, he instinctively threw a hand over his bag. "Right! I'll, I'll see you when class is over."

"Good luck with your art project, Sparky," he said, pushing Jay towards the doors with a hearty pat on the back.

The second Jay was out of the door, Harumi elbowed Cole in the ribs, a smirk upon her face. Before Cole could say a thing, she left, leaving only him and Kai at the front.

His co-worker whistled, hands innocently behind his back as he stole a glance at Cole.

Cole rolled his eyes and sighed, holding a hand to his head. Sometimes, he wished that Skylor would storm in between the two and shut Kai right up. Cole put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. "Yes, Kai?"

"Who kissed first?"

Cole blinked. "Uh." He held his breath, his eyes darting between Kai and the shelves to his right, serving as a getaway for Cole. As if Jay being nosey wasn't enough… Fortunately, with luck on his side, Pixal stepped in front of him, looking serious.

"I need your help with something, Cole."

"Oh, Pixal! Good to see you!" He spared a look with Kai, seeing him with narrow eyes. He definitely knew what Cole was up to. "What did you need help with?"

"The computer at the cashier is acting up and I thought you could help me with that."

"Of course!" He was rudely interrupted when Kai cleared his throat loudly, disappointment flashing across his face. "Mind waiting, Kai? Pixal obviously needs my help."

"Fine! But just know that I'll be waiting!"

"Ooff course you will," Cole said sarcastically, urging for Pixal to move faster. When Kai was out of earshot, he slung an arm around the intern, grinning. "Thanks for getting me out of that. Kai can make things so awkward sometimes…" Cole shivered visibly.

Pixal scratched the back of her head, confused. "What do you mean? The computer really is acting up."

"Oh… _oh_."

* * *

Jay skidded into the classroom, checking in with the teacher before rushing to find Zane. He plopped down on the ground beside Zane, spilling his bag which was filled with photos of him and Cole since the years they had been friends.

"You are finally here! What took you so long?" Zane asked, sitting up.

"I, um, had some things to sort out with Cole… but we've sorted it all out now. Besides, I got some great things to use for my collage now!"

Zane raised his head. "A collage? What kind of collage?"

"Well, I wanted to make something for Cole, yanno? And then, I had this idea to make it a collage board… or maybe like a memory board, but filled with things that he likes."

"And the pictures?" Zane inquired.

Jay stiffened, collecting the photos into one big pile. "Things that he likes and… memories…"

There was a twinkle in his eye when he came across a photo of the two of them at the Ninjago Annual Carnival.

It was nighttime in the photo, the two of them standing in front of the ferris wheel. Jay was holding a stick of blue cotton candy and Cole, a large stuffed alien wearing a bowtie under his arm. He remembered, that time at the carnival, Jay had accidentally dropped the tickets while they were on the docks. And just like that, they fell into the water. He remembered crying about it for hours, and the only words he was able to say being "I'm sorry" and "I ruined our time at the carnival"...

All while Cole had been trying to cheer him up while he only continued to ramble on about being so stupid, and so clumsy, and dropping the tickets when in reality Cole should have been hanging onto them.

A sigh escaped his lips and he covered it with another photo, propping himself against the wall.

The next one was from their first day at the beach together, and Jay's first time _ever_.

The two of them had found a volleyball court and started a game against each other. One on one.

Everything had been going swell until Jay tripped over his own feet, landing face first on the sand while the ball only continued to follow gravity and came down hard on Jay's back.

It was _horrible_. He couldn't even stand up.

Cole had kneeled down by Jay's side, taking him to the nearest bench near the stores and bringing him an ice pack.

Jay gritted his teeth together, putting another photo over that one. Each one he came across was a day when he had messed it up _somehow_ by managing to be his stupid and clumsy self.

Jay felt tears swelling up in his eyes and he rubbed his sleeve across his face, sniffing. How did Cole enjoy any of these days?

Just then, Zane started waving his hand in front of Jay, pointing to the blue phone on the floor. "I think Cole is calling you."

Jay wiped his face again, looking up at Zane. "Oh, what?" His eyes traveled down to his phone and he jolted, answering the phone call. "H-Hello?"

" _Hey, Sparky. How's that art project coming along?"_

"Good, yeah."

" _Soo, Pixal and I are going to the cafe in an hour, do you want to join? Zane can tag along too."_

"Y-Yeah! Totally…"

" _That's relieving to hear… I thought you were going to stay behind to catch up on your art project, but I like hanging out with you, you know?"_

Jay felt his heart leap and he smiled, throwing an arm over his legs. "Me too."

" _See you in an hour then?"_

"See you."

Jay switched off his phone and stared at the photos. Finally he realized. It didn't matter if Jay thought he always messed up their days together, Cole just wanted to be with him and that made him happy.

Just them.


	15. Finally Together

**Wow, guess who managed to binge all of the BH6 series before school starts up again? Also, I just have to but SQUEEE the Ducktales season finale is tomorrow and I can't wait!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

It was finally Saturday, which meant Jay had the good ol' weekend on his side and plenty of relaxation ahead of him. That was of course until he remembered the collage he needed to finish. All it really needed now were only a few more final touches, but Jay didn't know _what_.

But he didn't want to move. Not now. Not ever. He just wanted to stay in bed, staring at the ceiling and doing _nothing_.

The best days were always like this.

His head dropped to the side and he stared at the floor where the collage board sat against the wall, every photo already glued onto it. He squinted, thinking of what else he could possibly add.

But he didn't want to _think_.

Jay groaned and rolled over on the bed, stuffing his face in the covers. He didn't want to do anything.

The peaceful quiet had been so rudely interrupted suddenly when his phone began to shake on his nightstand, jolting Jay into a sitting position. He leaned over and saw Cole's picture smiling up at him. With a moan, Jay hit the green button, falling back onto the bed.

" _Morning, Sparky,"_ Cole spoke through the phone. Jay kept his eyes trained on the ceiling, spreading his arms wide open.

"Hey, Cole."

" _You doing anything today?"_

Jay squinted at the ceiling. "Why do you ask?"

" _So I was thinking…"_

Jay laughed, throwing a hand over his face. "Don't do that. Thinking leads to bad stuff, yanno?"

" _Ha, ha, very funny, Jay. But seriously, Kai told me of this boba place downtown and it sounded great. Wanna join me?"_

"Hmm, I really just don't feel like doing anything today. Even more so just getting out of bed." Jay lifted an arm for emphasis, reaching for the edge of his bed. "I can't do it." He huffed.

Cole tsked, sounding more amused than displeased. " _Awh, that's really too bad. I thought my boyfriend wouldn't pass up our first date together-"_ Jay's eyes flew open and he sat up, staring at the phone with wide eyes, " _-but I guess I was wrong. Enjoy your do-nothing Saturday."_

Cole hung up. And Jay reached for his phone, frantically dialing Cole back.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Cole! _Grr_." Jay's fingers shook as he struggled to redial Cole's number, but instead he clicked his mom's number and he could hear her ringtone, booming through the trailer.

"Jay, honey, why are ya callin' me when we're only rooms apart?"

Jay slapped a hand to his face, squeezing his eyes shut. "Don't pick up, Ma! It's- it was an accident!"

Jay hissed and muttered under his breath, hanging up on his mother and punching in the numbers to Cole's phone.

"Cole! Cole-"

" _Oh,_ you're _calling_ me _? I thought it was a do-nothing Saturday."_ Cole spoke sarcastically.

Jay rolled his eyes, lifting the phone closer to his head. "You idiot! You didn't tell me it would be a date!"

" _Well, of course. I even asked if you had any plans for today. Besides, it'll be just the two of us. Why? Did you change your mind?"_

"Yes! I'm changing - I mean, yes, I changed my mind! _Of course!_ I changed my mind!"

" _I'll be at your place in ten? Oh, I almost forgot, bring your sketchbook. I have a cool idea… See ya then."_

Jay was already running to the bathroom before Cole could even hang up. Minutes later, he stepped out, feeling refreshed. He gave himself a good whiff and grinned, he surprisingly smelled really _good_.

He stopped in front of his closet and brushed over all his clothes, thinking to himself. What did people wear on dates? What did people even _do_ on dates? Did they dress up? He'd seen it many times in the movies, but those people had usually gone to things like movies and big fancy restaurants. Jay stuck his tongue out. Maybe he should just dress casual, after all, they _were_ going to a boba place. And he wanted to treat this like it were any other regular hangout.

After all, they were still... them. Still friends, still best friends. Best friends that had to wiggle their way out of a tough situation. The only thing that had really changed was how much they cared for each other.

After throwing on a pair of clean clothes, Jay swept his eyes around the room once more to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. His eyes stopped trailing when he came across two sketchbooks in a pile on his desk.

Cole had asked him to bring his sketchbook with him, so, Jay went and snatched it up, sliding it into his bag. He then stared at Cole's, questions suddenly clouding his thoughts.

He had kept his friend's most precious item with him for so long, why hadn't he thought to ever return it?

With a disappointed shake of his head, Jay swiped the book off the desk and put it next to his, closing his bag.

"Mom! Dad! Cole and I are going out for boba!" He made sure to tell his parents after he finished a quick bowl of cereal.

"Have fun, dear!" Came his mom's voice.

Jay checked the time as he started towards the door and stepped outside, feeling the warmth exhaust his body already. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun and looked around for any sign of Cole. He should be here by now, if his friend had stayed true to his word - which he always did. It had been 12 minutes since he ended his call with Cole and he could see no car anywhere.

Jay wrinkled his nose, pulling his phone out and dialing Cole's number again.

When it started to ring, Jay lifted the device to his ear and he waited, a hand on his hip.

"You're a dip." Were the first words Jay heard when the other line picked up. The voice had sounded so close and yet… Jay turned his head to see Cole leaning against the trailer with a grimace across his face. Jay watched as he stepped closer, holding a hand out.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

In a burst of emotions, Jay's hand flew out and grabbed Cole's, squeezing it gently.

"We're walking?"

"More time to spend together." Jay started to walk a little faster, dragging Cole with him. "Besides, it's not _that_ far."

* * *

"And that's why I think I should apply to work for Harumi," Jay stated as Cole opened the door to the boba place.

"You really think you can juggle a job and school?"

Jay frowned. "Well… You're going to be working during the school year too, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm _me_. I've seen how you deal with just getting through the school year _itself_. I don't want to see you overworking _and_ overstressing yourself, Jay. And I don't think your teachers would want you to either."

Cole peered over the person in front of them. They were quite far away from the counter and all the seats in the cafe had been taken. He hoped that by the time they reached the front that at least _one_ table would be open.

"I can do it. Easy!" Jay proclaimed, bouncing on his toes. Cole chuckled lightly, pressing a hand down on Jay's shoulder to keep him from jumping too high.

"Eh, I guess if you're really up for it." They moved one step closer to the front. "I'm sure Rumi would love it too."

"Plus, that means I get to see you more! Ey, _ey_?" Jay elbowed Cole with a slight smirk.

"Ah, man. I can't believe summer is already almost over."

"And I can't believe this will be our last year of high school." Jay ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Hah, wow… I am _not_ ready."

"Me too, buddy." Cole stared straight ahead as they moved another step closer. "But hey, it's still summer. Let's just think about to today, okay?"

Jay agreed.

Thankfully, the line started to move faster and they were almost to the front in no time.

And luckily for them, a table was open just after Cole ordered their drinks. So, the two slid into their seats with a smile, poking the straws through the sealed plastic.

They started off with a fun conversation, Jay chatting away like it was nobody's business. As he talked, Cole snatched a pen from his bag and started doodling on a napkin.

Currently, Jay had found a way to talk about zoos and how the last time he had been to one was nearly eight years ago.

The longer Jay talked, the more random items Cole tossed onto the napkin, smiling as he wrote the words: BOBA.

"What's that?" Jay asked quietly, leaning over the table.

"My contribution to a momento of our first date," Cole said with a grimace, adding final dots to the cup.

He slid the napkin towards Jay, putting his pen to the side.

It was a little drawing of two bobas, one with wings and the other sitting in a flower. A thought flickered through Jay's mind. "Can I keep it?" He asked.

"It _is_ for you anyways."

A smile found its way across Jay's freckled face and he slid the napkin to the side. He would add it to the collage.

"Did you bring your sketchbook?" Cole asked suddenly, lifting the straw to his lips.

Jay reached for his bag, pulling out one of the two books that were inside. A slight gasp escaped him when he realized he had grabbed onto Cole's old sketchbook and he quickly slid it back inside, feeling for the correct one.

"What did you want to do with my sketchbook?" Jay finally asked, putting his sketchbook on the table.

Cole pushed his boba off to the side and pulled out a box of art supplies.

"Alright. _So_ …"

A grin wove its way across his face as he started to speak.

"As your personal art teacher, best friend, and boyfriend, I decided we could… do an art collab!" It was obvious Cole couldn't conceal his excitement. His voice had gotten higher and his hands had shot up in the air like fireworks. Sheepishly, he brought his hands back down and cleared his throat.

"Or, well, you know. Try one… If you like the idea. Do you like the idea?" he waved his hands, trying to get straight to the point. "I've thought about it for a while now, and I thought it'd be a good idea. A fun one too! And maybe… whatever you're doing for your art project, it could add to that." Cole blinked. "Speaking of, what _is_ your art project? You never told me since day one so I kinda assumed you were going to tell me on your own time. But the deadline is coming soon and you _still_ haven't said anything -"

"Cole!"

At the sound of Jay's voice, Cole shut his mouth and rested his hands on the table, laughing nervously.

"Cole, Cole, _Cole._ You know _I'm_ usually the one to do all the talking. Also, too many questions! Can we take it one at a time, _please_?"

The other simply nodded, leaning back into his chair.

"I'm starting to become _you_ now," Jay said with a roll of his eyes, a mocking tone in his voice.

"And I, you." Cole put a hand to his forehead and sighed. "I just got so excited," he held onto the box of supplies with a gleam in his eyes.

Jay laughed. "Well, I like seeing this side of you."

Cole opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it, however he couldn't stop the blood from rushing to his cheeks. "Alright, now we're off topic," he simply stated, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"So what do you think of the idea? Do you like it? Do you want to _do it_?" He pressed closer, unaware of how much he was leaning on the table.

Jay scrambled to grab their drinks and he lifted them up, eyes moving down to the table as he cleared his throat loudly to get Cole's attention.

"Right. My bad."

"I… like it!" Jay pitched in, putting both drinks down.

In an instant, Cole reached for Jay's sketchbook and hastily opened it, thumbing through the pages.

"Hey!" Jay yelled, flustered. "You just swiped that from me, yanno?!"

Cole snickered. "Yeah, like you did with mine?"

Jay pouted when Cole succeeded in a comeback and he watched as he flipped through the pages.

"What are you looking for anyways?"

"I needed this to see what kind of things you like to draw. Get some ideas flowing, you know?" Cole frowned. "You usually doodle a _lot_ in your sketchbooks. I'm surprised to see there's hardly anything in this one." He raised an eyebrow when he came across a page filled with mindless circles.

Jay's eyes fell on the table. How he remembered that page. That was the day after he had just found out about his friend's crush on him. He remembered how much that had distracted him from everything else. And how much it changed everything between them. He shook his head, collapsing back onto his seat.

"That's because… it's a new one." Jay bit his lip, resting his head on one of his hands. "I- Hey! Don't look at that!"

In a split second, Jay had snatched the book out of Cole's hands and put it on his lap, his face red with embarrassment. Jay had almost forgot that he scribbled random ideas about his art project in that sketchbook and letting Cole almost see it would have ruined any chance of it being a surprise.

"It's- it's- you can't see it yet." His eyes drifted to Cole's. "I promise, you'll know exactly what it is… in a couple of days," he added.

Cole only smiled. "Okay, Jay."

Jay looked to the floor, feeling the weight of Cole's words like a knife to the heart.

This was so _dumb_.

 _He_ was so dumb.

He knew Cole hadn't meant any harm, but hearing those words only made Jay feel worse.

It was like the same events playing out which happened nearly less than a week ago.

Except this time, Cole took the sketchbook. And this time, Jay was hiding the secret. But he wasn't trying to hide it _forever_ … but it felt so familiar and so hurtful. Especially since they had just gotten over a similar experience not too long ago.

"Hey, are you okay?" Cole's calming voice pulled him back into reality and his eyes swept to Cole hesitantly.

"No…" he croaked, "No."

"I just, feel so, _guilty_. Hiding secrets is what started this awkwardness between us in the first place. And, and when I took my sketchbook away because of one, little, secret, it felt horrible." Jay's shoulders hunched over. "And I know you're not hurt, but I feel bad knowing that you know I'm keeping something from you after we got over something _just like this_."

Cole couldn't look at Jay like this. All hunched up in his chair like he had done something wrong. If the stupid table wasn't in between them, he probably would have brought his friend in for a tight hug. But unfortunately, there sat the table.

Instead, Cole reached over, finding one of Jay's hands.

"Hey, it's okay." Jay looked up at Cole. "I made mistakes too. I felt like I wanted to keep my secret from you forever, but the truth is, I should have just told you and been honest with myself. I even _wanted_ to tell you at one point. You don't have to feel at fault for all of it, Jay."

Cole took a deep breath, squeezing Jay's hand. "From now on, we be open with each other, and we trust each other _and_ ourselves. Got that?"

He earned both a nod and a smile from Jay and he held on just a little longer before letting go and sitting back in his chair.

After that pep talk, something went off in Jay and he turned his head to his open bag, eyes trained on the sketchbook that was sticking out.

"Cole,"

His friend raised his head, looking to Jay.

"I forgot. Something." Heart racing even faster than before, Jay reached for the sketchbook and pulled it out, showing it to Cole.

Cole's eyes widened with disbelief.

"My _sketchbook_."

"I, uh, yeah. I don't know why I held onto it for so long… but, it's yours. It's not mine, and I shouldn't have lied to you before… you didn't deserve that… -" He flinched when Cole took it from him, going through the pages which looked bent and like they were about to fall out.

"Thanks for returning it."

* * *

Outside, Jay had already tossed his empty boba cup away, Cole still holding onto his, a little less than half full.

"So now what?" Jay asked him, rocking back and forth on his heels. "That was a pretty touchy-feely date if you ask me. I was kinda hoping it would have been more… _less_ touchy-feely."

Cole laughed, sucking on his straw.

"Our date is _far_ from over, Sparky. Thaaat, was just the beginning. We still got a whole lot of today left and I want to spend it with you. What do you want to do?"

Jay's eyes popped wide open and he looked around quickly, trying to come up with an answer on the spot.

"Uh, me? I dunno… what do people usually do on dates?"

Cole tossed his now finished boba in the trash. " _Jay_ ,"

" _What_? I just wanna know how a date usually goes… this is my first one!"

"It's my first one too, you dummy."

"You asked me!"

Cole slung an arm around Jay, locking him under his firm hold and pulling him close to ruffle his hair.

"Hey!" Jay grabbed Cole's hand and pushed it away, laughing hysterically. "I like to keep my hair an organized mess, alright? Don't mess it up any _more_."

" _Sure_. Alright since you can't choose, how about we check out that game place I've never been too? Take a little break from art and thinking, yanno?"

Jay let go of Cole's arm. "I _like_ that idea very much…" A lightbulb went off in his head and he had an idea. "Wait, wait, just one quick thing before we get going again..." Jay pulled out his phone and held it out in front of the two of them, finger hovering over the camera button.

"3..."

Cole's eyes widened and he looked to the camera, his arm still around Jay.

"2..."

A mischievous idea slipped into his head and he grinned, eyeing Jay fondly.

"...1!"

As soon as his finger fell on the button, Cole turned his head and pressed his lips against Jay's cheek quickly.

Shocked, Jay pulled open his photo gallery and scrolled to his most recent photo in the album.

There it was. The photo in which Cole had snagged a surprise kiss, which had made Jays cheeks flush a deep shade of red.

"I-I like it," he stuttered, feeling pulled closer to Cole.

" _Great_ ,"

"But, but also, can I ask you to that movie tomorrow?"


	16. A Gift To You

**One more chapter left after this one! Also, I realize some of you have started school already or will be starting fairly soon, good luck to you all in the new school year!**

* * *

The rest of the weekend had flew by as easy as that and by the time Jay knew it, it was already Wednesday. The day he would give his art project to Cole. The last day of summer art class. The day he had been dreading.

Jay felt his stomach turn with every ticking moment.

Sunday had been… _something_.

Just as planned, Jay went out with Cole to the movies, as it was first a suggestion Jay had thought of when he saw how busy Cole's shifts would start to get. They had an interesting time there. Cole had completely no idea what movie he would be walking into and suspected that it was first going to be another one of Jay's favorites - _Samurai in Space_. He was thrilled to find out he was wrong but also curious as to why Jay chose this particular movie.

It wasn't a movie made to be action packed, or sci-fi, or anything cool, by Jay's definition, but rather heartfelt and inspiring. Cole didn't mind, of course. In fact, he loved slow paced, tear-jerker movies… he just didn't think _Jay_ would be into these kinds of movies.

Jay, meanwhile, was awkwardly, and internally, still trying to figure out the differences between their dates and hangouts.

Then on Monday came around. Cole had started working his longer shifts and Jay was showing off his art project to Zane, asking him questions about whether he should add anything to it, _what_ he should add, and what he thought Cole's reaction would be.

Still, Jay would hitch a ride home with his friend, the only flaw in that being that he came home to his parents later than usual. However, Ed and Edna didn't mind, knowing Cole was there to keep eyes on Jay. Surprisingly though, it was the other way around.

One step inside the car and Cole's head had fallen against the window, his eyes trying to stay open. Logically, Jay offered to drive while Cole took a nap in the backseat.

Tuesday, they did the same thing. Cole drove Jay to his class and for him, work, while Jay took the wheel on the way back.

Then, Wednesday.

Jay's stomach was aching.

He knew he and Cole were more than just best friends at this point. But he wanted to make sure that what he was giving his friend had everything he wanted it to say.

He wanted Cole to know how much he meant to him.

While he felt like the screw up, Cole was there to remind him he was more than that.

When he felt weighed down by his art, Cole was there to offer him support and confidence.

And when he needed a friend, Cole was there.

"I'm thinking of adding _this_ ," Jay held a folded up paper to Zane, urging him to take it and read it.

Of course, Jay hadn't known that he and Cole would be together, but once it happened, he began to plan a little speech, hoping to tell Cole just how much he wanted to be with him and never let go. He couldn't believe he had been oblivious to his own feelings.

"What do you think?"

He gave Zane a few minutes and once his friend had read through it, he simply nodded, handing it back to Jay. "It's perfect."

Jay frowned, looking over his creation. "What if it's not good enough? What if it isn't as grand as Cole would have expected a surprise from _me_ to be? I mean, I even added a couple drawings of my own. Stuff that I drew with him! I want to show him that his thoughts really mean a lot to me."

Zane dropped a couple paint brushes into a cup and moved away from his canvas, squinting at his painting from afar.

"Might I suggest that you do not worry, Jay? If Cole is your best friend, then it should not matter whether or not he thinks it is… _impressive_." Zane picked up a hairdryer and set it to low, grazing it over the few spots he added finishing touches to. "What matters, is that you put in _your_ best effort to create something for _him._ "

Jay's gaze dropped to the floor and he stared. Zane was right. He had a point. But he couldn't help but feel like it needed _more_. He always thought it was never enough for practically anything!

As he moved to put his memory board on his desk, a flash of black caught his eye and his head shot up in an instant.

His eyes locked with Cole's.

His boyfriend flashed him a smile and a small wave.

A peep escaped Jay's lips, all while his heart took a huge leap in his chest.

Finally able to move, Jay gripped Zane's shoulders and shook him.

"Zane! Oh my gosh - _Cole_! What's he doing here? His shift wasn't supposed to be over until another three hours!" Jay panicked, running his hands through his hair. "This makes no sense!"

Zane tensed, eyes growing wide. "Don't ask me. I know nothing!"

Jay growled low in his throat and he moved his project to the floor by his bag, against the wall. Jay searched the area for any large cloth that just so happened to be lying around. The door with the words 'closet' drew his attention and he kicked open the door, swiping through the supplies.

"Ahah!"

Feeling lucky indeed, Jay tossed the cloth over his project and threw his bag in front of it.

As Cole headed his way, Jay flung himself to his seat, trying to act as casual as possible.

"Boo!" Cole waved his hands in the air.

"Nice try, but it isn't Halloween yet, dummy."

"Ah, I _was_ planning to sneak up on ya, but you saw me and well, surprise blown. Hah. Hey, Zane! That's an impressive painting you got there. Is that your art project?"

"Thank you, Cole." Zane stepped to the side, allowing Cole to get a better view of it. "And, it is. Do you like it?"

"Of course I like it! Wow," he traced a finger over one of the icicles, "it looks so… _real_. What are you going to do with it?"

Zane shrugged, setting the hairdryer on a counter. "If I cannot find any use for it, my second option was to gift it to Pixal. She had informed me she could use something new on her wall."

Cole nodded attentively before spinning around and facing Jay.

"What are you doing here so early?" Jay asked him, a hint of disappointment in his voice. He hoped Cole hadn't picked up on it.

"Rumi thought it would be best if I got some extra shut eye before tomorrow, so she let me off early today. _As you can see_. Besides, it's Wednesday _and_ your last day of class. She told me you were working on something big!"

Jay winced. _Right_. He forgot he had told Harumi all about his art project just yesterday when Cole had fallen asleep on the counter.

"She hates that I'm working more hours now," Cole scratched the back of his neck, looking at the floor, "but I need them before the summer's over. With school and everything else, ah, I just don't think I'll be able to work as much as I could now."

Jay nodded. Of course, Cole was right. But it still sucked to see him coming home with heavy eyelids.

"I know it's only been two days, but do you really have to work so long? You could end up overworking yourself…" Jay sighed, drawing circles on his desk with his fingers.

"Pixal's leaving soon," Cole started, a frown appearing on his face, "And Kai's taking less hours now that summer is coming to an end. There aren't that many people, Jay."

"Well… what if I applied? What if, I _didn't_ wait till the school year and I applied now! Yeah!" Jay stood up from excitement, flashing a grin at Cole. "This _could_ work."

Cole's expression softened and he took a step back when Jay was all over him.

"I could take some hours off you. It could make things better."

"That would be nice."

* * *

Cole tossed his bag to the floor before strutting into the kitchen, his stomach growling. Even though Rumi had let him off earlier, Cole was still feeling a bit tired after spending hours on his feet for days. He decided, after a quick snack, he would hit the couch for a short catnap later.

Jay followed shortly after, hiding his art project behind the couch.

"So any ideas on what we should do for our collab?" Cole asked, kicking the fridge door to a close.

Jay seated himself at the table.

"I was thinking," Cole started, tossing a honey graham into his mouth, "your colors are really good. I don't know if you've ever paid close attention, but the colors you choose complement each other really well. And they pop too! The gradients -"

"So what you're saying is, you want me to do the coloring part of the collab?"

Cole shook his head. "No. While it does look to be your greatest strength, how about you do the drawing, and I'll do the coloring?"

"Do I really have to?"

"Yes. And I was thinking we could do watercolor? I really need a little more practice with that."

"Watercolor? Okay, yeah, but I don't _have_ watercolor paper at home."

Jay ducked as Cole tried to swipe at his head. "I have some paper, don't fret, Sparky."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to take a catnap on _that_ couch, over there." Cole said with a grimace.

Jay flew up from his seat and threw himself between Cole and the couch.

"Wait! _Wait_!" Jay blushed. "I have to give you something."

Jay sat Cole down on the couch and he tiptoed around back, grasping for his memory board. He got down on his knees, sharing one last glance with it, biting his lip nervously.

While he knew deep down that Cole would love it no matter what, a voice in his head told him never to share that memory board.

Jay ignored the voice and stood up, clutching the memory board close to his chest.

Cole raised an eyebrow, eyeing the large thing in Jay's hands.

"That's one little present ya got there," he joked, pulling his feet up on the couch.

Jay shut his eyes, running his thumbs along the edge of the board, desperately trying to soothe the beating of his heart. He had worked hours just to perfect this project, this _gift_ and he was _scared_.

"Cole, I-" Jay's voice was shaky, stuttering. He outstretched his arms, handing the board over to Cole. "I made it. _This_. For you."

Without hesitation, Cole seized the board from Jay's hands and brought it to him, eyes skimming every picture and note that was attached to the board.

"It's my art project." Jay said, sounding a little more confident than before.

Cole's eyes found its way to a letter from two _years_ ago. And right next to that, the very first thing Cole had ever given Jay. A torn out slip of paper.

It was from when they first met.

The school had put up various pieces from it's art classes to represent students and their talents. They were displaying it in the halls and showing it off as a student-family art show in the evening.

It was just when school was let out. Cole and Jay had just so happened to be in the same place at the same time.

He saw Jay, happily marching up to the display cases to see what piece of his they had decided to share with the world.

A second later and he Jay was running out the doors, pulling his scarf up to cover his face. The boy plopped down onto the concrete steps and Cole could see him trying to swipe at the tears.

" _Mind if I join you?"_

 _Jay looked up, dragging his arm across his face to hide the fact that he had been crying. But it was no use to hide the redness of his eyes. Jay sniffed, making himself smaller. Still, he moved over a bit, making room for Cole to sit down._

" _Lemme guess. Either your art wasn't up there, or they chose the worst possible piece in existence."_

 _Jay couldn't help but chuckle at that last part. He sat up, but kept his eyes on the ground._

" _First one."_

 _Cole scratched his head, nodding slowly. He didn't quite understand why Jay had ran off and cried about it like a child, but everyone had their reasons, so he just accepted it. "Ah… sorry bout that."_

 _Jay shifted, pulling out his small sketchbook and flipping through the pages. Tears spilled onto the pages, soaking them slowly. Cole couldn't help but steal a glance at the drawings on Jay's pages._

" _I was really looking forward to bringing my parents here tonight. To show them." He spoke hoarsely, stuttering a couple of times._

 _Cole was surprised he actually wanted to talk._

" _I always knew I was no good," he muttered._

 _Cole's breath hitched and he snapped his head towards the other, a frown scrawled onto his face._

" _Hey, that's their loss for not putting up your drawings," Cole nudged his shoulder playfully, offering him a smile. "But, if it makes you feel any better, my art wasn't displayed either."_

" _Oh." For a split second, Jay actually felt relieved. Sure, he didn't personally know the guy sitting next to him - although, Jay had seen him around and in a couple of his classes - but he was somewhat happy to know that someone else's art wasn't up there. He didn't feel alone. But this guy seemed to be handling it better than he ever could. "It… kinda does…"_

 _Cole cocked his head a little to the right. "Huh, well that stings a little."_

 _Jay's eyes flew open and he turned to Cole, panicking. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"_

" _I'm_ joking _. It's all good." Cole rested on his hands._

 _Jay's cheeks grew warm with embarrassment and he looked away, gnawing on his lip._

" _Oh," Jay chuckled nervously, fighting to collect himself._

 _They talked a bit more. Sharing a couple facts about themselves with one another. Sharing laughs and experiences. They found a friend in one another._

 _As their time neared its end, Cole reached for the notebook sitting beside him and he whipped out a pen, scribbling some nonsense onto a sheet of paper. When he was finished, he ripped it out and gave it to Jay._

" _You know where this park is?" He asked. Jay nodded._

" _Meet me there, tomorrow. At 9AM," he pointed to the same exact words scrawled onto the paper. "Bring some paper and pencils… or, a sketchbook like that one."_

 _Jay held onto the paper tightly, heeding Cole's words._

" _How do I know you're not just going to bail on me?"_

 _Cole laughed. "You're funny. I like that." He flashed a smile at Jay, and surprisingly, Jay returned it. "My name's Cole," he told Jay, holding out a hand._

 _Jay took Cole's hand._

"Jay,"

Cole chuckled softly, his heart clenching. He was sure Jay had thrown all this stuff away. These were from years ago… and he kept them all?

"I can't believe you kept all of this," Cole's eyes flew over a few more pictures, his smile only getting bigger.

"I keep pretty much everything you give me," Jay said all too quickly, slapping a hand over his mouth.

Cole swooned. "Awh, you really like me that much?"

Jay grinned sheepishly. "Guilty."

"Oh, remember that time we went to that Traders Exchange with your parents and you tried to bargain with that kid for a comic?" Cole pointed at the picture, capturing that moment.

Jay stifled a laugh. That kid didn't dare to give up his comic for _Jay's_.

"Oh! And this here when you and Kai tried to flatter that worker into give you another sundae, for _free_? Oh man, Nya couldn't stop complaining about how completely clueless you were."

Jay hunched his shoulders, face flushing with embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Cole was reminiscing every moment captured within the memory board. His eyes spotted the origami Pikachu from nearly over a week ago, then the scribbled on napkin from _three_ days ago. Even that picture they had taken on the end of their first date was pinned on the board!

"Do you like it?" Jay asked after a few moments of silence and Cole admiring every photo.

In the time he had spent aweing over Jay's work, Jay had seated himself beside Cole on the couch, fiddling with the ends of his coat.

"This is the best present anyone could ever give me!" Cole couldn't take his eyes off of it.

"Oh, good… I thought you would have hated it…"

"Of course you would think that." Cole wrapped an arm around Jay, "But you know, considering all the small gifts _I_ give to you, I'd say this about beats all of them."

Suddenly, Jay remembered something. He jolted up and pointed to the center of the board where a single picture was pinned.

"I almost forgot! There's something underneath that-"

Curious, Cole stuck a finger under the picture and bent it upwards, slipping a folded paper out from underneath.

"What's this?"

"Just open it, ya lug!"

With a shrug, Cole unfolded the paper, sparing a glance at Jay, who sat there anxiously.

To his surprise, Jay had snatched the paper from Cole, shifting a little in his seat. Jay cleared his throat loudly, holding up the paper for him to see.

"Cole, _Dirtclod_ , you've been, my best friend for four, long, annoying, years," the brunette started, reading off the paper. He sensed Cole trying not to laugh, and he started to feel the urge to laugh as well. But he fought to restrain his serious, yet somewhat also light and playful tone. "You probably think: what's Jay up to now? Always trying to be way too extra, thinking it's never enough."

"Well yeah, but this is something different. I didn't ask for you to stay by my side when things got rough, when _I_ got… complicated, when I felt like giving up on _me_. But you did, and I couldn't have asked for a better friend than that. But now, I'm asking you, as my _boy_ friend, to never give up on me, never let go, and never-" Jay choked, feeling his emotions starting to get the best of him. "-never let go of _us_."

Jay sat, staring at his paper while the silence accompanied them. Cole wasn't answering, and that freaked him out. Did he say something wrong?

Slowly, Cole plucked the paper from Jay's hands and flung it towards the floor, taking Jay's hands in his.

"Did you really need the paper?"

"I planned it out and everything! … And, it helps me stay calm," Jay admitted, feeling Cole squeeze his hands gently. "But… but promise me?"

"Jay, I wouldn't give you up for the world."


	17. Feeling Lucky

**Hey! Last chapter, ah. But not to worry, i will be starting a new fic this Sunday! Sliiight inspiration drawn from Wreck-It-Ralph ;))**

 **Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoyed this! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and thank you for all your kind words! And once again, good luck to everyone in the new school year!**

* * *

Cole was scared. Every minute that ticked by, his stomach filled with butterflies. In just a matter of days he'd be back in the very building they all called, _school_.

Oh, how he didn't want summer to end.

Speaking of, Skylor had already dropped out of work, claiming that working at the bookstore was only a summer job, and Pixal, the intern which he had grown fond of having around as company, had already left as well. Sure enough, it was only him, Kai, and Harumi. Not too many people for a small bookstore. Not too many people for a bookstore which attracted many customers.

"It's your fault we're so busy," Cole shouted across the room at Rumi.

"How is any of it my fault, Cole?" She asked with a disapproving sigh, opening a box of fresh, brand new, notebooks.

Cole handed Kai a better copy of a paperback. "Back to school shopping _here_ , in one of Ninjago's most popular and _only_ bookstore, creates chaos and you know it."

"Yeah, _plus_ , there's only _three_ of us. You know that right?" Kai waved goodbye to the family after handing them their receipt.

After the last customer in _line_ , Kai collapsed against the wall and lifted his phone, switching it on. "Hey! I'm off in five minutes!"

Cole growled low in his throat. He wished Kai could stay longer to help with all the people. He was too exhausted to deal with everyone himself. Even with Rumi helping, it didn't make as much as a difference without a third person. Most importantly, he remembered a certain _someone_ promising to start working early and take over for some of Cole's shifts.

Unfortunately, that certain someone was not here, because that someone was too busy, hanging out with Zane.

A flash of red sped by him and Cole whirled around, catching Kai sprinting for the door with a coat over his shoulders.

"See ya later, Cole!" His friend called out to him, heading for the door.

"You're leaving me already?" Cole pouted, stopping Kai before he could get a foot out the door.

"Weeelll, for good reason, of course. Nya, Sky, and I are all going to the movies tonight." Cole felt his heart clench. "Wish we could have invited you, but… maybe some other time?"

Cole took a deep breath.

"Besides!" Kai's loud voice jolted him awake again. "Look who just showed up! Up high?"

Sure enough, Harumi's new hire she had been speaking of had just stepped inside, furiously tugging at the collar of his uniform. He caught sight of Kai's open hand and he smacked his own against it, a smile finding its way onto his freckled face.

Cole was surely surprised. With a genuine smile, he marched past Kai and towards the friendly face.

"Surprise!" Jay squeaked, letting his hands fall to his sides.

Cole winked at him, fixing the positioning of the collar before smacking him upside down on the head. "Looking sharp, Sparky."

Jay rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You wear, the _exact same_ outfit. In fact, you're wearing it right now!"

"Yeah, might as well say you look better wearing one than me." Jay narrowed his eyes. "You know uniforms don't look great on _everyone_."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Rumi asked, squinting her eyes at Cole. "Is that a way of indirectly asking me to change the uniforms?"

Cole shrugged and pointed to the cash register which Kai had left unoccupied. He turned to Jay. "I'm assuming you were trained how to use one of those?"

Jay nodded, surprised by his boyfriend's sudden change in tone. With a grimace Cole shuffled away.

"Well then you get front counter."

* * *

Later that night, Jay bundled up under his covers, hurrying his face into the comforts of his pillows.

His first day at a real job, and it was _exhausting_. Why did he ever thinking of starting while back-to-school shopping was going on?

Nevertheless, he knew he would enjoy showing his face at his job rather than _school_. Oh, how he hated pretty much everything about school. And he couldn't believe he would be about to enter his senior year of high school in less than a week!

Less than a week…

Three _days_.

His last high school summer and then who knew where all his friends would go?

Jay gulped, staring at the wall.

Well, he made it this far. It was scary, but he felt proud. Accomplished. And he sure bet his friends did as well.

A small thought popped into mind and he rolled over to the edge of his bed, snatching his phone from the table and pulling up a group chat.

 _last day of summer party my place?_

He texted to the chat. He waited a couple of seconds before a message from Kai blew up in his face.

 _But you live in a junkyard_

Jay wrinkled his nose, shifting into a sitting position.

 _I'd say a party at a junkyard is a lot more fun than a party at a lame old house._

He typed back with a smirk.

His eyes moved to the top of the chat and he saw Zane, still in the process of typing something.

 _We could each bring something. Yes?_

Jay was about to agree when Nya butted in excitingly.

 _I call dibs on cookies!_

A small sigh left him and he struggled to come up with another treat to bring. He _was_ thinking of having his mom bake cookies to share them with, but Nya had already beat him to that, leaving him to think of a second option. But he had no second option. Not at the moment.

 _I got soda and drinks!_

Kai added.

 _What about baby carrots?_

Suddenly, everyone - everyone actually being Kai and Jay - was sending wild texts, disapproving of baby carrots at a fun, small, get-together party.

 _don't listen to them Zane. In fact, bring all the fruits and veggies you can get your hands on!_

Nya sent.

 _but what should I bring? I already have plenty of cups and forks…_

Jay threw his head back, squeezing his eyes shut as his head spun with ideas. That was until he realized something. Cole hadn't said a _single_ thing since. He was the only person in the group chat who didn't have a single input on the idea.

Taking a deep breath, he forced his fingers to type.

 _Cole?_

Suddenly, Jay's phone was bursting with text messages, all of them demanding that Cole respond to their pleas.

Jay, feeling like having a whole ton of messages thrown at you at once was completely overwhelming, sought to message Cole privately.

 _u haven't said a thing u know_

Jay leaned back against his pillows, biting his thumb. Cole was never doing anything at this hour… Maybe he was just sleeping.

 _Cooooollle :((_

The minutes ticked by and Cole still hadn't responded. At the same time, Jay was beginning to grow more and more concerned.

Nya started to shoot him texts, asking him if Cole was alright.

Then Zane, and lastly, Kai.

Frustrated, Jay switched off his phone and dropped it on the edge of his bed, falling onto his back.

Cole was just sleeping. He tried to convince himself of it harder but the more he told himself that, the less he believed it.

Maybe he should just call Cole…

Going with his guts, he picked up his phone and -

 _Sorry, Jay. I was… finishing a little something. What's up?_

In an instant, Jay shot up in his bed, a wave of complete and utter relief washing over him.

 _group chat_

Sure enough, Cole had checked the group chat which Jay had created and he scrolled through every single message.

With no time to spare, he sent only one text block:

 _I'll bring cupcakes. Jay, how about pizza rolls?_

* * *

As the days flew by, so did summer. Soon, it was _already_ the last day of summer, a day that had surprisingly came around really fast.

And in the evening, Jay would host his little get-together between his friends to celebrate their last summer together as high schoolers.

Currently, Jay and Cole were back at the park. The park in which they always sketched together in. However, this time, they had taken a spot on the bench just several feet from the water.

Neither of them had brought their sketchbook because they both agreed that today would be a day for relaxation. No phones, no stressing out over school, and no sketchbooks. They had only a bowl of ice cream and each other.

" _Move over_ , Sparky."

Jay tossed a glance over his shoulder, seeing Cole holding two cups of ice cream.

"Why should I? I'm perfectly comfortable where I am."

Cole snorted, threatening to dump the ice cream on Jay's head. "So _I_ can sit down too. Where else am I gonna go?"

Jay brought his hand to his chin, pretending to look like he was thinking thoroughly. "Um, how about the grass? Or, you know, there's always room on my lap."

"Yeah, _right._ I'd probably crush you if I did that."

Reluctantly, Jay gave in, making room for Cole on the bench.

"Ice cream, you scream." Cole joked, handing Jay his share of the dessert. Before Cole did anything else, he pulled a folder out of his bag and gave it to Jay, urging him to open it.

"It's finally finished," he told him.

With his free hand, Jay opened the folder to find their watercolor art collab inside.

"It's what I was working on when you made that group chat… what do you think?"

What did _he_ think? Jay felt his heart leap in his chest when Cole leaned closer.

It was amazing! Two combined art styles into one picture… and it was beautiful.

"Gosh, Cole! You really do know how to watercolor," he set his ice cream between his thighs and awed at every little detail Cole had added to the drawing. "You have to teach me this someday, really. Drawing lessons are nice and all, but I want to try other mediums of art!"

Cole laughed. "That sounds like a plan, Sparky. Side note…"

His voice carried, leaving Jay slightly worried.

"Yeah?"

Cole picked at his ice cream, shoveling a spoonful. "So, you know, Kai reminded me of the back-to-school dance they always have on like the second week of school."

Jay leaned his head to the right, curious to see where this was going.

"And you know, we usually _always_ go, but this time, I was thinking," he paused, tapping the tip of his spoon with the rim of his cup. Jay eyed his ice cream with thought. He saw where this was going, he knew what Cole was about to ask. Sure, he was right about them going to the dance every year, but things were different now. Back then, they'd normally hangout by the courtyards, chatting the night away. But _now_. Now…

"Things are a little different now…" Cole started again, "so would you like to be _my_ date to the dance?"

Jay hurriedly swallowed his ice cream, sharply gazing at Cole.

Although he saw this question coming at him from a mile away, he still felt somewhat dazed and flustered.

"Me?" He echoed.

Cole rolled his eyes. "Yes, _you_."

"Ah! You just want me to dress up and stuff! Wait- that means I'd have to dress up! Cole! I don't _own_ anything fancy, you know that!"

"Jay, you don't have to dress up. That's just what everyone else likes to do. You don't have to be like them… although, it would be nice," Cole added, tussling a couple of Jay's curls. "Think about it. 'A couple's first dance at a high school.' Now _that's_ pretty funny and cute."

Jay snorted, slipping the watercolor paper back into the folder. "Then I expect you to be well dressed too. We can wear matching bow ties!"

"Whatever you say, Jay."

* * *

It was currently ten minutes past the scheduled time of the party and everyone had showed up. Everyone but Cole that was.

Nya and Kai were in the living room playing an old, and what used to be popular, board game that Jay had found, hidden under his bed, all dusty and beat up. Nonetheless, Nya insisted she play against Kai.

In the kitchen, Zane was sampling some of the snacks that were brought and the pizza rolls that had been prepared.

Alone, Jay stood by the window of his trailer, gazing out at the entrance to their junkyard. There wasn't a moment that past in which Jay _wasn't_ thinking of Cole.

The black-haired teen was never late and he always kept his word. This was _just_ like the group chat a couple days ago. Jay sighed. To prove his point, the clock read 7:10 when he was supposed to be here at 6:50.

Jay's eyes trembled and he palmed the glass, never taking his eyes off the lights.

"Where is Cole? It has been ten minutes and he still has not shown up."

Jay jerked, throwing a hand over his chest and fisting his shirt.

"Woah, Zane. You sneaky ninja. _You_." Jay drew in a shaky, deep breath before looking back out the window. "But… I dunno… he was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. What if something went wrong? I- I mean I literally just saw him three hours ago!"

"Whatever it is that could be holding Cole back, do not worry. I am sure that he will be here eventually."

"Yeah, well I'm going to wait outside." Jay pushed open the door, taking a step out of the trailer. "Tell the others if they come looking for me."

With that, he shut the door.

Moving around back, Jay jumped onto the ladder and started to climb to the roof of his house.

At the top, he sent a message to Cole, hoping he would take quicker to respond.

 _we're all waiting for u_. _I'm waiting for u_

A sigh escaped his lips as he watched the front of the junkyard for any sign of Cole.

As time passed, Kai would step outside to offer Jay any snacks, thinking he was growing hungry up there. Jay refused to come down and inside, arguing that he could miss Cole arriving.

The minutes ticked by and Jay was struggling to keep his eyes open. Doing nothing but sitting and watching was boring and he could feel himself growing more and more tired.

He was just about to give in when a faint light from the front of the junkyard caught his attention.

Jay jolted awake, getting onto his knees.

"Cole!" His chipper voice shouted happily. "Up here, ya dingus!"

Cole, who was slowly nearing the trailer, looked up from his phone and box of cupcakes, spotting Jay sitting at the top of the trailer. As usual. Before he took another couple steps towards the door, he turned his head to hear music and chattering, coming from inside.

"Awh, man, I'm sorry I'm so late, Jay. I didn't mean to get you worried or anything-"

Jay waved a hand, moving his arm to pat the empty space next to him. "What _took_ you so long?"

Cole looked from Jay to the cupcakes in hand. "Rumi helped me bake these… they took, _longer_ than expected."

A smile crossed Jay's face and he kicked his feet up higher. "I'm just glad you're finally here… Go drop off the cupcakes and then join me, won't ya?"

Sure enough, that's what Cole did. He was greeted by all the familiar faces and before he could step out of the trailer, Kai pushed a paper plate of snacks at him.

Cole looked down at the plate seeing a line of baby carrots, two cookies, a pile of pizza rolls, and a couple of the cupcakes Cole had brought himself.

He couldn't help himself as he popped a pizza roll in his mouth, feeling himself melt at the deliciousness of it.

A few seconds later and Cole had climbed atop the trailer, the plate now sitting between the two of them.

Cole leaned back on his hands, taking one of Jay's in his.

"If I had the choice to be _anywhere_ in the world right now, it would definitely be up here. With you." Cole muttered softy, letting himself take a deep breath as a cool breeze softly hit him. He reached over and lifted the now empty plate, moving it to the other side. Immediately, Jay scooted closer.

Cole's body locked up at the sudden action, but he soon eased, giving Jay's hand a gentle squeeze. Jay closed his eyes. "That was uh, that was a pretty eventful last month of summer… huh?"

"It was bound to happen," Cole told him, never taking his eyes off the night sky.

"You know, I think I'm going to transfer into an art class this year." Jay spoke suddenly, gaining Cole's attention.

Concern flickered across Cole's face and he turned to Jay, offering him his best smile as he remembered a couple years back. "You really think you can manage this time?"

Several years ago, Jay had requested to take an art course with Cole. When the school year rolled around, Jay was relieved to have the same class, the same period, as his best friend. Unfortunately for him, a simple class art walk and he burst into tears, wanting to opt out of the class.

Everyone had put a small piece of paper out next to their artwork. Everyone was required to walk around the room and observe all the different pieces, leaving any compliment, suggestions, or words of encouragement they had on the small paper beside it.

Jay, he didn't get a single note.

Well, he got one note.

One note. From Cole.

And although he knew his friend was only trying to help, he couldn't get the feeling as if he didn't belong.

"Yeah." Jay said confidently, snapping Cole out of the past. "Yeah. I _know_ I _can_. I just… I just gotta be myself, you know? So what if mine turns out _nothing_ like yours… we've all got our own way of seeing things, just like we've all got our own way of drawing things."

"You're finally listening to me, aren't you?"

"Shut up, Cole." Jay smirked, bringing his legs up. "But yeah, I think I can finally accept it now. Who knows, I'll probably get into a class with you in it."

Jay stole a quick kiss from Cole.

"But for now, let's just enjoy our last several hours of summer."


End file.
